Introduction to encountering the digital in performance: deployment | engagement | trace

The Introduction to this special issue performs a dual role. Firstly, it unpacks the main notions we bring forth through our title, specifically those of the 'encounter' and the 'digital', as well as the three words we have identified as key to digital theatre practices, namely: deployment, engagement and trace. The introduction examines how the contributors respond to those ideas, which preceded the articles and documents herein. Secondly, it offers observations that span across and connect the articles and documents, identifying key trends in current critical thinking and creative practice with regard to contemporary theatre in and through the digital. The observations that emerge suggest connections that allow us to reflect more broadly on developments to our understanding of the digital, and indeed to the larger ecosystem of performance in digital culture.