Found Space

A found space refers to a performance venue purposely created in a space that was not originally built as a theatre, usually a space that gives meaning to and/or enhances the theme of the play or performed piece. Examples include theatrical productions mounted in cathedrals, warehouses, city parks, rural fields, dance clubs, and street corners.

Such performances are often referred to as Found Space Theatre or as Site-Specific Theatre.

Cabaret performance is often similar to a found space, with the audience members sitting at tables, with food and drink. Found spaces can also lend themselves to environmental staging, in which the space for the actors and the space for the audience are not clearly distinguished.

This kind of performance has thrived in South Africa over the course of the late 20th and 21st century, especially so at the many festivals that drive the theatre season. The performances are often also derivative of the whole physical theatre movement, as a concept particularly used by contemporary dance and Physical theatre practitioners.