The existence of the theatre makes itself felt when there is not even a second person present, when the minimum requirement for any performance (two people) is lacking. John Berger

 

Since 2010, Klaus Frahm has been photographing classical theaters and opera houses across Europe for the series, The Fourth Wall. Coming from the tradition of architectural photography, he uses prominently an analogue 4x5” camera, to control the perspective and capture minute details. Composing from the back of the stage facing the audience, his series is a commentary on the design and dramatic theory of the invisible wall between the audience and performers. The Fourth Wall, a term common among actors, had been invented in 1892 by the French dramatist Jean Julien: the actors should behave on stage like in a room with four walls, the fourth is transparent only to the audience. The mechanical, electric complexity of show production, typically hidden behind the scenes, now prominently frames the opulent, velvet theater seating beyond the stage creating a multifaceted dialogue between the two contrasting environments