--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The theatre is an attack on mankind…" description: "\"“The theatre is an attack on mankind carried on by magic: to victimize an audience every night, to make them laugh and cry and suffer and miss their tr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/iris-murdoch-993_acting_the-theatre-is-an-attack-on-mankind-carr_2502510.png" --- # The theatre is an attack on mankind carried on by magic… ![“The theatre is an attack on mankind carried on by magic: to victimize an audience every night, to make them laugh and cry and suffer and miss their trains. Of course actors regard audiences as enemies, to be deceived, drugged, incarcerated, stupefied. This is partly because the audience is also a…” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/iris-murdoch-993_acting_the-theatre-is-an-attack-on-mankind-carr_2502510.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/iris-murdoch-993_acting_the-theatre-is-an-attack-on-mankind-carr_2502510.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29d/iris-murdoch-993_acting_the-theatre-is-an-attack-on-mankind-carr_2502510.png) > ““The theatre is an attack on mankind carried on by magic: to victimize an audience every night, to make them laugh and cry and suffer and miss their trains. Of course actors regard audiences as enemies, to be deceived, drugged, incarcerated, stupefied. This is partly because the audience is also a court against which there is no appeal.”” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Theatre manipulates audiences through emotional extremes, treating them as both victims and judges, creating a dynamic of control and resistance. **In simple terms:** Theatre plays with audience emotions, making them both participants and judges. Key Takeaway Recognize the power dynamics in any performance or presentation. Themes art audience manipulation emotional control Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - live theater - political rallies - media broadcasts - public speaking Key Concepts psychology performance theory ethics Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do performers have to their audience? - How does audience perception shape the performance? A Different Perspective Audience agency can be limited; not all viewers resist or are aware. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Audiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audiences/) [Audiences Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audiences-enemies-1075852/) [Every night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-night/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Regard Audiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-audiences-1075855/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Theatre Attack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre-attack-1075853/) [Victimize Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victimize-audience-1075854/) ## Related quotes > [“The theatre is an attack on mankind carried on by magic: to victimize an audience every night, to make them laugh and cry and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-theatre-is-an-attack-on-mankind-carried-on-by-magic-to-victimize/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We're making a commercial Hindi film catering to all types of audiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjay-dutt/we-re-making-a-commercial-hindi-film-catering-to-all-types-of/) [Sanjay Dutt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjay-dutt/) > [My audience loves seeing me pump large amounts of money into action and sets. And it works. I'm not saying that films made within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-shetty/my-audience-loves-seeing-me-pump-large-amounts-of-money-into-action/) [Rohit Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-shetty/) > [I am deeply honored that my team is being recognized by H.S.H. Prince Albert II and the Festival de Television de Monte-Carlo for Disney/ABC's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sweeney/i-am-deeply-honored-that-my-team-is-being-recognized-by-h-s-h-prince/) [Anne Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sweeney/) > [Audiences want great story telling; it's why white people watch my show 'Black in America.' It's why black people watch 'Latina in America.' All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/audiences-want-great-story-telling-it-s-why-white-people-watch-my/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [With comedy, the jokes will come out, and people will see them coming. 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It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. 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Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Acting 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/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. 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