It requires far more travel, time and expenditure than any of its cultural rivals. But there's a risk with these productions of the night out feeling flimsy and expensive for the trouble and money you put in to be there. Events such as Tantalus and the history plays stretch the inconvenience to the point where there is a feeling of heroism and virtue in having survived them. But, ultimately, the major motive is to make art a form of sport. Reading one of those volumes in bed becomes physical effort.
Literature is like going to the gym.
You turn out the light with your arms aching. Tipping empty cans of energy drinks into a bin as you leave the theatre is part of the same fight. The sick-note kids hit back.