Editing Fourth wall (section)

===Theatre===
The fourth wall did not exist as a concept for much of dramatic history. Classical plays from [[Theatre of ancient Greece|ancient Greece]] to the Renaissance have frequent direct addresses to the audience such as [[aside]]s and [[Soliloquy|soliloquies]].

The presence of the fourth wall is an established convention of modern [[Realism (theatre)|realistic theatre]], which has led some artists to draw direct attention to it for dramatic or comic effect when a boundary is "broken" when an actor or character addresses the audience directly.<ref name="Bell" /><ref name="Abelman">{{cite book |last=Abelman |first=Robert |title=Reaching a critical mass: a critical analysis of television entertainment |year=1998 |publisher=L. Erlbaum Associates |isbn=0-8058-2199-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781622492886/page/8 8–11] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781622492886/page/8 }}</ref> Breaking the fourth wall is common in [[pantomime]] and children's theatre where, for example, a character might ask the children for help, as when [[Peter Pan]] appeals to the audience to applaud in an effort to revive the fading [[Tinker Bell]] ("If you believe in fairies, clap your hands!").