Happy #LoveTheatreDay!

The day encourages arts companies and cultural institutions from across world to come together to celebrate #LoveTheatreDay on Twitter, an online celebration.  

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So to celebrate here’s 10 reasons you should go to the theatre more:

- Sitting in the middle of an auditorium watching the action live is better than watching a film.

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Mar Dixon, who started the day in 2014, said: “Like all culture, theatre is vital to our society. There are so many people who say theatre, opera, museums, galleries etc aren't for them but really they ARE for them. That's exactly the point.”

- Lots of film and TV stars started their careers on stage.

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- It’s not as expensive as you think it is (Unless you’re buying front row seats to Book of Mormon in central London).

- There is some incredibly, engaging political theatre on stage at the moment.

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- There are theatres in most towns and villages so you don't have to go far. 

Rachel Dudley, Theatre Manager at the Royal Court said: “Theatre is so important because it allows creativity & imagination.”

- It’s not all Shakespeare and men in tights (Unless that's what you're into)

Richmond Theatre recently put on a production of As You Like It with company, Shared Experience. This was a special occasion as this play was the first to be put on at Richmond Theatre 118 years ago.

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- There are plays and performances for people of all ages.

- You get to see the amount of hard work that goes into a performance.

Andrew Speed, Stage Manager at the National Theatre, said: “In this age of social media and clickbait, the theatre is more important and relevant than ever. A play usually has both sides of an issue openly debated and an audience can be emotionally engaged and make their own minds.

- You get to see some truly stunning performances, and some terrible ones.

- Theatre deals with the basic aspects of our lives that we are constantly trying to understand.

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Andrew Speed went on to say: “Most importantly, live theatre allows us to examine and make sense of the spectrum of the human condition in all its complexity.”

Since 2014, #LoveTheatreDay has continued to grow and evolve and is now in partnership with The Guardian, Twitter and The Stage

Tell us your favourite theatre experiences.