The project starts from the observation of the transformation of politics into a media spectacle, in which images and communication devices assume a central role in the construction of public perception. The 1980s mark a turning point: market deregulation, economic globalization, growing inequalities and the emergence of political leadership as performance radically reshape the relationship between citizens, institutions and media. An unexpected underdog and apparent representative of the values of traditional politics, Margaret Thatcher was able to translate the logic of spectacular communication into political dynamics and become the mask of the profound transformation that took place in Europe from the 1980s onwards. Her progressive loss of memory becomes the lens through which to observe the distortions and misperceptions of the spectacle society. The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolises the end of the great ideological narratives, opening the way to a world in which political communication increasingly relies on the personalization of political programmes, simplified narratives and mediated images. In this context, The Spectacle Society seeks to understand how the shift from participation to perception has influenced the construction of collective memory and identity among European citizens.

The project therefore stands at the intersection of theatre, history, media and civic studies, addressing the complexity of contemporary phenomena through a transdisciplinary approach. The aim is to experiment with the integration of historical and artistic research, archival and dramaturgical practices, combining fieldwork, interviews and workshops with local communities, university students and people in contexts of vulnerability. These diverse cultural and social experiences will be elaborated into a single performative process unfolding across different European territories. The scenic experimentation includes the live manipulation of objects and audiovisual materials, the overlap between real and virtual images, and the construction of performative tableaux that combine analytical and emotional dimensions, offering an articulated and immersive perception of the process of political spectacularization. 

The motivation behind this research is both cultural and civic: understanding how forms of political spectacle have shaped contemporary society allows us to question the potential of theatre as a tool for critical decoding and for the construction of participatory spaces. Through direct and participatory engagement activities, the project intends to transform the audience into co-producers of meaning, creating transnational cultural networks and fostering a shared reflection on the dynamics through which power communicates and represents itself, as well as on what stimulates political participation in collective life—or what distances people from it. 

The project is conceived as an open theatrical laboratory, in which the audience, thanks to the polysemic nature of images, continues to participate in the process of creation and critical reflection even during the performance. This interaction takes the scenic form of a dystopian and non-verbal quiz: spectators may choose whether to participate—and perhaps influence the spectacular process (becoming its accomplices?)—or refrain from responding (becoming its victims, or witnesses?).

Analysing the relationship between individual memory and collective memory is one of the methodological principles of the work. On one side, a research on the performers’ bodies and on how the theatrical device transforms physical space. On the other, a scenic environment that recalls the pop and commercial aesthetics of the 1980s, as well as the comforting yet alienating poetics of early commercials and talk shows. Through an interactive and dystopian system, the functioning of the spectacle society is not only narrated but staged within a device where individual amnesia becomes collective representation.