<P> Street theatre is arguably the oldest form of theatre in existence: most mainstream entertainment mediums can be traced back to origins in street performing, including religious passion plays and many other forms . More recently performers who, a hundred years ago, would have made their living working in variety theatres, music halls and in vaudeville, now often perform professionally in the many well - known street performance areas throughout the world . Notable performers that began their careers as street theatre performers include Robin Williams, David Bowie, Jewel and Harry Anderson . </P> <P> One of the most interesting points about modern street theatre is its unique sociopolitical place . People who might not have ever been to, or been able to afford to go to, the "legitimate" theatre can watch a street show . By virtue of where the shows take place, their audience is made up of anyone and everyone who wants to watch . If an audience member cannot afford it, then it is free . </P> <P> Performance artists with an interest in social activism may choose to stage their work on the street as a means of directly confronting or engaging the public . For example, multimedia artist Caeser Pink and his group of performers known as The Imperial Orgy staged a piece titled Our Daily Bread that brought performers onto the streets of the New York's financial district to ceremoniously lay loaves of Wonder Bread along the sidewalks, each with an advertisement from Satan offering to buy people's souls in exchange for material possessions . The performance caused an uproar when police were called out and bomb - sniffing dogs were brought in to inspect the loaves of bread for explosives . </P> <P> Other artists consider a paying, theatre - going public to be unrepresentative of the public to whom they are trying to communicate, and performing to' the man on the street' may be considered a more democratic form of dissemination . </P>

Stree theatre usually includes which three types of performance