The Psychologist - the British Psychological Society - the World's Smallest Theatre — and Psychologists' Next Act
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines Teatro Edicola, a repurposed newsstand in San Severo transformed into the world’s smallest theatre, where six spectators experience 15‑minute performances at sub‑metre proximity. Drawing on neuroaesthetics, it argues that such extreme liveness intensifies emotional, physiological, and mirror‑neuron activation in ways conventional theatres cannot. The QR‑code entry mechanism further enhances agency and psychological ownership. The piece proposes Teatro Edicola as a low‑cost, transferable model for arts‑based wellbeing interventions, and as an ideal natural laboratory for psychophysiological research on proximity, empathy, and aesthetic experience. “Intensity does not collapse. It concentrates.”
Author: Magaldi, Luciano
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7156834094
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