Cinema has the power to wow, bringing narrative to life on an epic, fantastical scale. In contrast, theatre is often seen as a middle-class, middle-aged pastime, too expensive for the rest of us and lacking the escapist power of film. The traditional proscenium arch distances the audience from the action and the narrative favours a slow-moving, realistic pace in contrast to the high-speed car chases characteristic of Hollywood blockbusters. Or so I thought. It seems, however, that the medium of theatre is undergoing a transformation. Not only are we seeing a sudden influx of Hollywood stars flocking to the West End, but the London theatre scene has over the years become renowned worldwide for a growing experimentalism which draws on the fantastical nature of the big-screen. No longer is it only in the realm of film where anything is possible.

The cynics amongst us may argue that Hollywood stars view the theatre as simply an opportunity to revive a fledgling career or combat the critics who portray them as nothing more than celebrity darlings who can’t act for toffee. Indeed, Sienna Miller’s recent foray into the theatre world in Terrence Rattigan’s “Flare Path” appeared to be little more than an opportunity for her to flounce her glossy hair and sigh daintily over her troubled love life as two men fought for her affections. Hardly taxing for her, I’m sure. But scepticism aside, the arrival of silver-screen cognoscenti such as Danny Boyle and Kevin Spacey to the West End has breathed new life into this more traditional medium. The West End is drawing in the big names from the world of cinema and whilst this encourages more young people to go to the theatre it has also led to a surprising, and successful, intertwining of styles.

Danny Boyle’s recent production of “Frankenstein” at the National Theatre in London is a perfect example of what happens when the two worlds collide. Best known for his expertise in the film industry, having directed and produced cinema classics such as “Slumdog Millionaire”, “Trainspotting” and “127 Hours”, his relocation to the theatre world proved a resounding success with fans camping out from 4AM everyday to buy tickets. Boyle’s talent at portraying epic locations alongside naturalistic character studies was beautifully translated onto the stage. Through his use of special effects and ambitious set design the audience found themselves perched atop a mountain one second and buried deep in the Scottish highlands the next in a way that is usually only realised on the big-screen. Boyle proved that the intrinsically escapist, all-consuming nature of cinema could successfully be adapted to fit a smaller medium.

In contrast, the recent stage production of “Children’s Hour” at London’s Comedy Theatre drew on cinema’s ability to create intimacy between the actor and the audience in order to illustrate the narrative’s central theme of entrapment. On the big-screen the director creates a connection between the characters and the audience through the “close-up”; the director becomes the eyes of the audience, controlling exactly what we see and when we see it. In theatre, they lose this ability and the whole stage is laid bare. However, the play’s two stars Knightley and Elizabeth Moss created detailed, naturalistic performances similar to what we would see on the big screen in order to draw in the audiences’ eye just like the lens of a camera can. As a result, the sense of betrayal and frustration which is so beautifully portrayed by the nuances of Hepburn’s performance is effortlessly translated onto stage by Knightley.

Furthermore, not only are the styles of theatre and cinema combining, but theatre and cinema themselves have been combined to great effect. Kneehigh Theatre’s recent production of “Brief Encounter” was staged in Haymarket cinema and used snippets from the film as a backdrop to the action onstage, with the actors occasionally interacting with the videos. Similarly, the aforementioned “Flare Path” used film to show the war planes flying over head, vividly bringing to life the stage reality in a way that theatre rarely does. By incorporating film into stage productions, theatre is able to transport the viewer to far-flung locations in a way that previously only cinema could.

As the things we love most about cinema gradually filter into the medium of theatre, the decision as to whether we’d rather spend our evening down the local Odeon or at the National surely becomes harder. Unfortunately there is one key aspect of cinema which has not yet proved influential within the theatre world: the price of tickets. For us penniless students, this is sadly a decisive factor.

Ellie Wallis