Another power of theatre (other than teleportation) is its ability to change oneself. Russel describes it as ‘wrongness in real time’. He goes on to explain that people do wrong things - mistakes are inevitable - but with fault comes change and healing. Theatre prepares you for inescapable dilemmas by presenting the consequences of the protagonist’s choice. It’s a second chance where you’re able to empathise, reflect, and ask yourself ‘what now?’

Madeleine Speed shares a similar idea on how theatre’s powers to heal. Speed’s article informs us on Ancient Greek beliefs that claim ‘watching theatre could heal society’ as they believed that the gods will cure their illnesses. The article mentions how during the pandemic, Greeks had sought solace in theatres ‘for a much-needed injection of drama following months of lockdown’. Whether you’re crying of laughter from a comedy, or sobbing from sorrow from a tragedy, theatre gives you a break and distracts you from your lives to watch fictional ones. Although theatre can’t eradicate the virus, it still possesses the ability to transport the audience from reality and give them a well deserved break.

Aristotle argued that performance is a tool used for teaching, in order to instruct people on how to best live their lives, through the use of mimesis. Aristotle claims there are 6 elements of a great tragedy; plot, character, theme, diction, rhythm, and spectacle. These must all be meticulous and work together well, in order to evoke ‘eleos,’ which are feelings of pity and empathy, and ‘phobos,' which is fear. The point at which these two are combined, the audience would become overwhelmed by katharsis, a state of mind so powerful that it propels individuals into a higher state of consciousness. This is the unifying nature of theatre, allowing an audience to form a tight, near transcendent bond through the common experience.

Drama serves to hold a mirror up to society, which is why there is such a universality to it. All of humanity values theatre, craves it, because it speaks the language of the people. 

Russel claims that “Theatre allows us to experience wrongness in real time,” and how “​​being wrong means that change is afoot.” It can be the ‘something’ you need to spur on change within yourself. Theatrical storytelling exposes you how wrong you can be about something through the characters making the same ‘wrongs’ as well, which helps you learn from the mistakes of the characters and realize the ‘wrongs’ you yourself might have done in the past. Theatre allows all that has gone unseen and unread to be exposed, and a path to betterment is proposed.

Moreover, Russel points out how “change is hard, so we need simple tools to make sense of it.” Theatre has the power to invoke change and convey meaningful messages to its audience in a way that makes it easier to understand and see.

In a similar note, journalist Madeline Speed has also pointed out how drama and theatre Helps people relate and project onto the characters in a play. She proposes that it could provide the people with ‘catharsis’ through showing how the characters in the play are dealing with similar problems to their own. Undesirable feeling can be ‘purged’ and ‘emotional equilibrium’ can be revitalized through watching theatre.

Catharsis itself has many potential meanings; synonyms commonly associated with it are ‘purification’ (which suggests the dispersion or equilibrating of feelings so they are experienced in a more balanced manner) or ‘purgation’ (which may mean to eliminate the feelings of audiences altogether). As such, there is no clear definition of the word itself, and some scholars have gone as far as to say that the entire passage from Poetics is corrupt and should be disregarded. One popular exploration into the meaning of catharsis initially occurred in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and was a suggestion that catharsis ‘increased the audience’s tolerance to fear and pity’, which may be interpreted as instilling a sense of impassivity or perhaps even a precursor to the Absurdist school of thought. In fact, this interpretation was so popular it reasserted itself in the 16th - 18th centuries. Neoclassical scholars assert that catharsis may have been a trope used as a moral anecdote to teach contemporary audiences to fear the consequences of their own potential behaviours as a result of ‘negative’ emotions such as greed, envy and anger, and hence is a form of poetic justice. 

In the 1500s and recurring in the 1700s, a common exegesis into catharsis relates to the idea of ‘purification’, and how it may amplify feelings in some spectators or diminish them in others, ultimately leading to an emotional equilibrium to surface. 

The definition of tragedy that first surfaced in the mid-19th century and has persisted into the current day relates to the idea of ‘purgation’. This interpretation suggests that catharsis is actually a climactic moment in time which spurs the release of fear, sadness and other strong emotions either directly as a result of the play or due to peripheral social pressures, and is considered a therapeutic expelling of excess emotions. This is achieved by creating a character which is relatable to the audience and representative of universal struggles. Audiences naturally empathize with the tragedy these characters face, which triggers introspection and a deeper connection with their own humanity. Hence, it is understood that tragedy triggers the onset of extreme emotions and catharsis is the moment of exorcism of these feelings from the body. In Aristotle’s Politics he seems to agree with this interpretation; scholars cite his suggestion that music and art can arouse strong emotions in people which, once they have surfaced, can be released in a therapeutic and constructive manner. 

Ultimately, it is impossible to know what Aristotle meant by ‘catharsis’, but it is up to the individual themselves to experience it and define it as they feel most accurately describes their feelings.