Empathy issues in theatre

This paper attempts to explore empathy as a spectator response to a performance in theatre. In particular, empathy is viewed here not only as an emotional response, but also as something that has a cognitive function. The author is more interested in the idea of the theatrical experience evoking empathy, using these kinds of reactions as part of the mechanism of artistic reflection and conceiving of people's emotional reactions as a unique and rational activity. The topic of emotions in fiction and art has repeatedly attracted the attention of many researchers, but few of them have turned to the study of the specifics of the spectators' emotional reaction to what is happening in a theatrical production. Science has even less to say about empathy in theatre. The author makes an attempt to explore this topic tentatively amid hopes stimulate further discussion.