U.S. presidential debate: a night of good theatre?

Complicated characters, fierce drama, vetted scripts — it was a night of grand theatre.

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took to the stage at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York last night to give their finest performances.

Audiences all over the world were glued to their TV set in numbers that dwarfed fellow appointment television favourites to bare witness to the first U.S. presidential debate of 2016.

But which candidate got in the biting zingers? How did the tensions play out? Who gave the most face? What role did good sense have in the proceedings?

A panel including theatre critic J. Kelly Nestruck, American literature professor Randy Boyagoda and Chatelaine's editor-at-large Rachel Giese join guest host Candy Palmater to examine last night's "spectacle" from an arts and culture perspective.