Intimate Inter-actions: Returning to the Body in One to One Performance

One to One performance foregrounds subjective personal narratives that define and seek to redefine who we are, what we believe and how we act and re-act. Refused the inherent anonymity that traditionally structures the shield of mass spectatorship, in One to One we are lifted out of the passive role of audience member and re-positioned into an activated state of witness or collaborator, or more subtly energized into ‘acting’ voyeur. This gift of explicit responsibility could be considered an extended elevation of the spectator's participatory role recognised in other forms of performance including cabaret, interactive theatre, forum theatre and psychodrama. My position in this paper derives from the assertion that the One to One performance format cultivates an especially intensive relationship in which an intimate exchange of dialogue between performer and spectator can take place.