Perhaps the deepest purpose of theatre is not to teach us how heroes win. We have plenty of stories for that. Perhaps we also need art to teach communities how to accompany their heroes when winning is no longer possible.
The Work Is Not Finished: T. S. Eliot, Cats, the Gospel, and Dramatic Completion
Perhaps this is why the greatest works never become obsolete. They are not preserved merely because museums, publishers, orchestras, churches, universities, or theatrical institutions protect them, valuable though such protection may be.
