metatheatre means self-referential drama. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.
Why “metatheatre” is a great word
A dramatic form that consciously reflects upon and reveals its own artificiality as a constructed performance, coined in 1960 by Lionel Abel from the Greek prefix meta- (“beyond, after, with”) and theatre. Unlike metadrama, which can focus on textual self-reference, or theatricality, which describes broad performative qualities, metatheatre specifically emphasizes the layered, live act of performance questioning itself. It is the actor breaking character to address the house lights, the spotlight swinging to illuminate the stagehands, and the script that confesses it is only a script—a hall of mirrors where artifice, by acknowledging its own frame, leaves the audience forever aware of the machinery behind the dream.
Etymology
From meta- + theatre. Coined by Lionel Abel.
noun
- self-referential drama