Since the first human communities were formed, people have used more powerful means of description than just words (or onomatopoeic sounds). Using the whole body to represent a character (either human or non-human) still stimulates our imagination. We can conduct anthropological research on this just as we can on any other mimetic behaviour representing reality. Since ancient Greek-culture, theatre has used a mixture of means to appeal to the audience’s consciousness while re-presenting reality, masking, and uncovering the characteristics of society and forcing the audience to engage in reflection.
Andrea Jochmanová, Ph.D., is a researcher in Czech theatre history who is interested in the connections between theatre and folklore, theatre and gender. She studies cultural anthropology, game theory etc. In 2020, her essay “To Make the Absent Present” was published, wherein she declares that we are more or less going back to the roots of the performative process, searching for good, old-fashioned narration, presented under a much more up-to-date label: storytelling.