Shotgun's 'The Great Divide': social drama punches hard and leaves you thinking

Why do we go to see plays? Leaving aside the grand musical spectacles (Les Miserables, etcetera) which are so popular, isn't it true that, as entertainment, most people find most plays are a poor substitute for a good film, a rock concert, or a sporting event? What do we find in the theatre that we don't find elsewhere presented with more fun and accessibility and cheaper to boot? Why do we bother with this dinosaur?

As a reviewer who typically goes to several plays a week, this is a question that constantly engages me. I haven't found a glib answer.

But often enough, I'm glad to say, I attend a play and feel, to a greater or lesser degree, as if I have figuratively stuck my finger into an electric socket, and leave the theatre feeling as if something powerful has passed into me. This is hard to describe but the sensation is unmistakable and I don't encounter it elsewhere. Fellow theatre lovers will know the feeling of which I write, although they may find themselves equally flummoxed trying to put it into words.