Off-Topic: Wisdom from the wings of a theatre Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Off-Topic: Wisdom from the wings of a theatre "We're doing it for us." Feature by Robert Purchese Senior Staff Writer Updated on 8 Feb 2022 "We're doing it for us." Those five words changed how I felt about acting in plays at theatres, and maybe about things in my wider life too. I overheard someone say them during rehearsals and to begin with, I didn't like what I heard. It sounded like someone saying, 'It doesn't really matter what the audience thinks because we're doing this for us, not them.' And it sounded like a cop-out. To me, the whole point of a production had been pushing for the best possible outcome. It was a prestige thing. We gave up evenings and weekends so the audiences would be wowed by our creation and give us - potentially - ovations and wonderful reviews. Things we could feel validated about, things we could boast of. But what I heard flew in the face of that and seemed to suggest it was OK not to push so hard. But the more I thought about it, the more I questioned my interpretation. So I thought about my time in amateur theatres in Brighton, and about what had been important to me, to see what came up. And I was surprised by what surfaced. Subscribe to Eurogamer to read this article Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 27 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Feature From abandoned board game to birthing a genre: Football Manager at 40 Kick off. 21 Feature How I became an Elden Ring detective It started with a save game... 26 Latest Articles Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Jelly Deals Logitech's G Pro X gaming headset is its lowest-ever price during Amazon's Early Access sale Prime Members can get it for just £52. Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store