The Fourth Wall

The fourth wall is the invisible wall between performers on stage or on screen & the audience, it is what separates the audience from the performance & is the invisible wall we view through into their world.

To break the fourth wall is when a performer or actor speaks directly to the audience, thus 'breaking the fourth wall' and momentarily bringing the audience into the world of the performance or movie.

The idea of the forth wall came about in Ancient Greek theatre, as the stage has a left right and back wall & the imaginary front wall is the edge of the stage, in Greek & Shakespearian theatre, the fourth wall has been broken many times