--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A theatre is not a blank page for…" description: "\"A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a soapbox or a Tannoy system: it is a conscience that wakes with what is happening in the space,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/andrew-o-hagan-12635_actor_a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editor_1160307.jpg" --- # A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a… ![“A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a soapbox or a Tannoy system: it is a conscience that wakes with what is happening in the space, and wakes further still in response to what people are making of it.” quote by Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/andrew-o-hagan-12635_actor_a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editor_1160307.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/andrew-o-hagan-12635_actor_a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editor_1160307.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/andrew-o-hagan-12635_actor_a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editor_1160307.jpg) > “A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a soapbox or a Tannoy system: it is a conscience that wakes with what is happening in the space, and wakes further still in response to what people are making of it.” [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Theatre is a living conscience, reacting to its environment and to audiences, not a passive platform. **In simple terms:** Theatre actively reflects and shapes society. Key Takeaway Create responsive, engaged performance. Themes art society engagement Mood thoughtful provocative Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - community theater - political satire - interactive installations - educational workshops Key Concepts theatre studies public discourse Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do creators have to their audience? - How can theatre provoke constructive dialogue? A Different Perspective Risk of echo chambers if audience is homogeneous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [Time is a device to stop everything from happening at once ... space is a device to stop everything from happening in Cambridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharma-kumar/time-is-a-device-to-stop-everything-from-happening-at-once-space-is-a/) Dharma Kumar > [Now conscience wakes despair That slumber'd,-wakes the bitter memory Of what he was, what is, and what must be Worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/now-conscience-wakes-despair-that-slumber-d-wakes-the-bitter-memory/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Tis not for us to warn a wilful sinner; We stay him not, but let him run his course, Till by misfortunes rous'd, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/tis-not-for-us-to-warn-a-wilful-sinner-we-stay-him-not-but-let-him/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [I think we get stuck in routines so easily that when an absurd moment in life seems to be there for no reason, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-braunohler/i-think-we-get-stuck-in-routines-so-easily-that-when-an-absurd-moment/) [Kurt Braunohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-braunohler/) > [Working out makes me feel good. When I don't work out for a few days, I start feeling grumpy. 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An Irish lesbian who wakes up every day and goes to work. 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Britain is filled with people who are really proud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/you-ll-find-that-no-pride-is-greater-than-the-pride-that-comes-with/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [I always knew I would come to London. I loved Glasgow, but it seemed filled with echoes of my parents' lives, and sometimes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/i-always-knew-i-would-come-to-london-i-loved-glasgow-but-it-seemed/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [Interviewing is not a democratic art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/interviewing-is-not-a-democratic-art/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [High culture isn't what it used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/high-culture-isn-t-what-it-used-to-be/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [When you grow up by the sea, you spend a good deal of time looking at the horizon. 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Read the fanzines: their contributors could find a needle-sized diss in a haystack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/fans-of-football-and-fans-of-nationhood-have-a-similar-zeal-read-the/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [Writing a novel is an act of self-annihilation as much as self-discovery. You can kill whole appetites and flood whole depths while plumbing them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/writing-a-novel-is-an-act-of-self-annihilation-as-much-as-self/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [It's not a crime not to know yourself. It's not a crime to send life away. It's just a shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/it-s-not-a-crime-not-to-know-yourself-it-s-not-a-crime-to-send-life/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [Art you can flush down the loo means nothing to me, even were the loo to be selected by Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/art-you-can-flush-down-the-loo-means-nothing-to-me-even-were-the-loo/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [I'm not interested in writers who are overcome with certainty, with single-mindedness, or with a sense of how consistent and morally upstanding they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/i-m-not-interested-in-writers-who-are-overcome-with-certainty-with/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [Long before the arrival of reality TV - before speed cameras, before recording angels on buses and lampposts - I felt I was living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/long-before-the-arrival-of-reality-tv-before-speed-cameras-before/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [Once upon a time, I thought that politics was the name we gave to our higher instincts. That was before Margaret Thatcher, who came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/once-upon-a-time-i-thought-that-politics-was-the-name-we-gave-to-our/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) [Explore all 54 Andrew O'Hagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. 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Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! 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I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a soapbox or a Tannoy system: it is a conscience that wakes with what is happening in the space, and wakes further still in response to what people are making of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew O'Hagan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editorial-it-is-not-a-soapbox-or-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editorial-it-is-not-a-soapbox-or-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/andrew-o-hagan-12635_actor_a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editor_1160307.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/andrew-o-hagan-12635_actor_a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editor_1160307.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/andrew-o-hagan-12635_actor_a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editor_1160307.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A theatre is not a blank page for editorial, it is not a soapbox or a Tannoy system: it is a conscience that…” — Andrew O'Hagan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrew O'Hagan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A theatre is not a blank...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editorial-it-is-not-a-soapbox-or-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/a-theatre-is-not-a-blank-page-for-editorial-it-is-not-a-soapbox-or-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```