Play

Reenactment is undeniably a form of play. Reenactments are performances in which reenactors play historical characters and in which historical events or situations are staged or improvised as play—not necessarily only in the sense of a theatrical production, but in the broadest sense of “play” as a verb. In some cases, reenactment can even be classified as a game when it is explicitly regulated and when an element of competition is involved, particularly when it takes the form of live action role-play (LARP). While the English language conveniently distinguishes between play and game, the latter of which may be understood as a formalized mode of play, the cultural theory of play has traditionally reflected on play in the broadest sense of the word, which includes theater only as one particular form of play.