This chapter introduces the discussion of the ineluctable obsolescing of the technological apparatus of theatre. Opening with a discussion of the representation of technological and human obsolescence in Star Trek, this chapter repositions the work of media archaeology, which typically excludes theatre from its purview. And yet, in its attention to the operational dimension of lost, dead, or passing technological instruments, media archaeology locates a network of inquiry profitably directed toward theatre. In a reading of the work of Thomas Elsaesser, Wolfgang Ernst, Jussi Parikka, Rebecca Schneider, and others, this chapter introduces the ways apparatus, nostalgia, and obsolescence provide a lens for thinking contemporary theatre.

The concluding chapter takes a brief case study of performers’ experiences in various roles in the history play cycle performed at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2019. These performers’ voices both enrich and complicate the arguments made in the previous chapters and offer perspective on how the view of Shakespeare’s history plays put forward by this monograph might have practical use for artists but also point to areas of future study.