The Fourth Wall
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Imagine you’re in a seat in the theatre. The stage has a back and sides, but is open to the audience. And yet, the actors behave as though they can’t see the rows of people watching. It’s as if there’s a fourth wall.
The fourth wall is the imaginary barrier between the fictional world and the audience in TV, film, or theatre.
As the audience, you are in a privileged position of watching these private scenes play out in front of you.
Origin of the Fourth Wall
An early description of this invisible barrier as a wall comes from our pal Denis Diderot (also of The Diderot Effect) in his 1758 writing Discours de la poésie dramatique (translated):
"Whether you are writing or acting, give no more thought to the spectator than if he did not exist. Imagine a great wall at the edge of the stage separating you from the audience; act as though the curtain had never risen."
I love Denis’ comment about acting as though the curtain had never risen. I’m not an actor, but I would guess that being able to ignore that there’s an audience, or a camera, might help create a more realistic performance.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
Now, you might take issue with Diderot’s notion, especially if you’ve ever been to a pantomime. Many shows don’t treat the fourth wall as a wall. A pantomime is expected to engage the audience by acknowledging that there will be things the audience can see on stage that a character perhaps can’t—“It’s behind you!” Other times the audience are explicitly part of the show.
Some shows have characters turn and share private thoughts directly into the camera, or simply give a knowing glance. This is known as breaking the 4th wall. Phoebe Waller-Bridge did this all the time in Fleabag, making the viewers her confidants in the scene.
We recently enjoyed a family viewing of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which does it rather spectacularly, merging the medieval and the modern.
Related Ideas to The Fourth Wall
Here’s Diderot’s passage in the original French:
"Soit donc que vous composiez, soit que vous jouiez, ne pensez non plus au spectateur que s’il n’existait pas. Imaginez sur le bord du théâtre un grand mur qui vous sépare du parterre ; jouez comme si la toile ne se levait pas."