Exploring Theatre Hot Takes: Give Us an Intermission, Please
by Chris Peterson
Theatre people always have opinions and sometimes those opinions come in hot. Recently, I put out a call on social media asking for your boldest, spiciest theatre takes, and the responses did not disappoint. From thought-provoking critiques to eyebrow-raising declarations, you gave me plenty to chew on.
So here’s what we’re going to do: I’ll be exploring as many of these submissions as I can in this column series. Some I may agree with, others I may not, but that’s the fun of it. Theatre thrives on conversation, and even the most out-there hot take can lead to surprising insights and fascinating discussions.
Think of this as an open forum, where no opinion is too bold to examine. Ready to dive in? Click on the “Exploring Theatre Hot Takes” tag at the bottom to keep up with every installment.
Kate Peckham put it plainly: if a show runs longer than an hour and a half, it needs an intermission.
“If the show is longer than an hour and a half, it needs an intermission,” Kate said. “A two-hour one-act play is exhausting and some of the story gets lost because you’re thinking about having to pee or you’re just sick of sitting still.”
I agree with her.
Intermissions are not just about bathroom breaks, though let’s not pretend those do not matter. They are about attention, comfort, and giving the audience a chance to stay with the story instead of slowly drifting away from it.
A two-hour one-act play or musical can ask a lot from an audience. At a certain point, even the most committed theatregoer starts shifting in their seat. You become aware of your legs. You start thinking about the lobby. You wonder if you can sneak out without climbing over half a row. And once that happens, the show has already lost part of you.
Theatre depends on focus. It asks people to sit together in the dark and follow a story in real time. But audiences are still made up of human beings with bodies. They need to move. They need to stretch. They need a minute to reset.
When a show pushes past ninety minutes with no break, the work can suffer. Jokes do not land quite as sharply. Emotional turns can blur together. Big moments risk feeling muted because people are tired, uncomfortable, or distracted. That does not mean the material is weak. It means the audience has been sitting still for too long.
Intermission also serves the experience around the show. The lights come up. People spill into the lobby. Conversations start immediately. What just happened? Did you catch that? Where do you think this is going? Those fifteen minutes are not dead space. They are part of the communal rhythm of theatre.
I understand the argument from some directors and writers who feel a break interrupts the spell. There are certainly shows where that may be true. A tight ninety-minute piece can work beautifully without an intermission. If the form, pacing, and intent all support it, then fine.
But once a show moves well past that point, the question changes. Is the uninterrupted structure really serving the story, or is the audience being asked to endure it?
A break does not have to kill momentum. In many cases, it can help it. It gives the first half room to breathe and lets the second half begin with renewed energy. It allows the audience to process what they have seen and return ready for what comes next.
There is also a basic respect issue here. Audiences are giving their time, money, and attention. Building in a pause is not pandering. It is acknowledging that the audience is part of the equation.
Of course, I respect authorial intent. If a playwright has created a piece that truly needs to be experienced in one uninterrupted stretch, that choice deserves consideration. But not every long show earns that choice simply by making it.
Very few stories need to be told in an uninterrupted two-hour block. Sometimes the absence of an intermission is not a bold artistic decision. Sometimes it is just exhausting.
Kate Peckham is right. If a show runs longer than an hour and a half, it probably needs an intermission. Not because audiences are weak. Not because theatre has to cater to every comfort. Because a rested, focused audience is a better audience.
And yes, sometimes people just need to use the restroom before the curtain rises again.