A 'Dramatic turn': The Revolution of Christian representation

This essay considers the difficulties in grasping the meaning of “sacred theatre”, due to a real revolution of the representation process in theological Christian thought. Through the writings of Latin Fathers of the Church, this article intends to explain that this revolution is based on the overturning of the point of view that moves from spectator to actor (ex parte spectantis ad partem agentis) and sets its origin “within” the scene, turning the show into a drama. The “dramatic turn” of Christian representation makes the classic idea of mimesis useless, and ushers in a new meaning of representation as “to re-present” memory or “to present it once more”, intended as to re-enact memory or to make memory active: representare vel agere memoriam.