Billowing smoke, dim lighting, gunpowder; these were once technical theatre’s essentials. But, since the 1980s, there has been a revolution. The demand to be bigger and better has seen household technology being repurposed for the stage, or else created specifically for dramatic purpose. But is technology simply being included because it exists? <br><br>In the digital age it is unsurprising that technology is central to many contemporary plots, and these performances are often complemented with relevant special effects. For example, Lindsey Ferrentino’s drama <em>Ugly Lies the Bone</em> (2015) features virtual-reality which the protagonist uses as therapy to process trauma. During its run at the National Theatre in 2017, the production portrayed the virtual world in the play onstage using an astonishing array of lasers.<br><br>On the other hand, increasing numbers of productions without inherent technological themes are using new effects and illusions. <em>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</em> (2016), the most expensive non-musical Broadway play ever, features live spell-casting, apparitions, and disappearances, executed so flawlessly they appear to defy the laws of physics. Some of the illusions are theatrical staples, such as trapdoors, and gauzes, but some of the pyrotechnics used to create spells are guarded secrets, only made possible due to great leaps in stage technology. <br><br>This complex give-and-take between theatre and technology continues to diversify in the 21st century. We may have come a long way from the firecrackers and cannon balls employed in Shakespeare’s day, but special effects continue to both create, and serve theatre.<br>