Essence and Aim

Peter Brook describes a Ta'azieh performance in a village in Iran. But I think what he describes is precisely the justification for and highest aim of every revival production, from Grease to Galileo:

...a true phenomenon was occurring, that of 'theatrical representation.' An event from the very distant past was in the process of being 're-presented,' of becoming present; the past was happening here and now, the hero's decision was for now, his anguish was for now and the audience's tears were for this very moment. The past was not being described nor illustrated, time had been abolished. The village was participating directly and totally, here and now in the real death of a real figure who had died some thousand years before. The story had been read to them many times, and described in words, but only the theater form could work this feat of making it part of a living experience. (The Open Door)

A task worth succeeding in, certainly.