The aesthetic experience of the Kuwaiti audience : an application of reception theory

The aesthetic experience of the spectator has a continuous ability to become a new experience at every theatrical event. This thesis endeavours to explore this phenomenon and test the variables that may influence the theatrical experience of a Kuwaiti spectator through the use and application of a survey questionnaire. In Chapter One we aimed to provide the thesis with a historical background to serve as a backdrop for the reader of this thesis to better understand the experience of Kuwaiti spectator and to know the main features and historical events that shaped the Kuwaiti society and how various historical events affected as well as shaped the Kuwaiti individual and society. The sea and the desert life, the discovery of oil and the Iraqi invasion are the main events which formulated the features of the Kuwaiti spectator. In Chapter Two we presented the theoretical framework of this study with emphasis on the reception theory. In Chapter Three we discussed the development of Arabic theatre as a backdrop of the Kuwaiti theatre. While the fourth chapter traces the stages of the development of Kuwaiti theatre from its early beginnings to the present, Chapter Five is the presentation of the two study cases examined in this research. The sixth chapter is devoted to the experimental application and its results, and in Chapter Seven we have examined the correlation between the variables.