This talk explores the dismantling and playful partial re-mantling of the ‘fourth wall’ in contemporary theatre, starting from observations on recent performances such as Andy Smith and Tim Crouch’s What happens to the hope at the end of the evening. Reflecting on the history of the fourth wall, the talk will examine postdramatic theatre’s particular engagement with this phenomenon as part of its politics of a consciously shared space between performers and audience members aiming at the audience’s implication and response-ability.