Physical theatre
Physical theatre is a theatrical genre that prioritizes the physicality of movement as its primary means of storytelling, often utilizing the body as the main tool of expression. Dialogue may be present but is not the focal point, distinguishing it from traditional word-based theatre. The genre encompasses a wide range of styles and can incorporate elements of dance, music, sound, and visual effects, making each performance unique. Influential practitioners like DV8 Physical Theatre, founded by Lloyd Newson, and Complicite emphasize the exploration of complex social and cultural themes through innovative, visceral performances that often break the "fourth wall," creating a collaborative experience between the audience and actors.
Historical roots trace back to forms like commedia dell'arte and the teachings of movement pioneers such as Jacques Lecoq and Rudolf Laban, who expanded the boundaries of physical expression in theatre. Physical theatre often involves devised works, where actors participate in a workshop process to create a narrative that transcends scripted dialogue. This approach encourages a fluid interchange between movement and storytelling, making the experience dynamic and engaging. Overall, physical theatre serves as a platform for radical expression, blending various artistic forms to communicate ideas and emotions in a direct and accessible manner.
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Physical theatre
Physical Theater is defined as a theatrical genre focusing on the physicality of movement in a theatrical context. Dialogue may be used, but it is not utilized within the same parameters as conventional word-based theater. Some broad definitions refer to physical theater as a type of movement-oriented storytelling; however, this is a simplification of an oftentimes complex theatrical presentation proffering a significant message. The style of physical theater may be abstract inasmuch as the body is the primary tool. Movement range and style are often dependent on the type of company performing the work or the context within which it is performed. There is often a significant meeting point between dance and movement and drama, with or without the incorporation of text, music, sound, and visual effects. DV8 Physical Theatre Company, founded in 1986 by Lloyd Newson, Michelle Richecoeur, and Nigel Charnock, was one of the predominant physical theater proponents. DV8 performed internationally, and the works are studied prolifically, both at a professional artistic level and as educational dance studies in schools and universities globally.
![SURGE Used To Be Slime. SURGE is Conflux's first festival of physical theatre, street arts and circus, running between 19-25 July 2010. By TheArches (Flickr: SURGE: Used To Be Slime) [CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 110642426-106274.jpg](https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/ers/sp/embedded/110642426-106274.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84xNvgOLCmsE2epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS)
![Simon McBurney in "The Encounter" (Théâtre de Complicité), World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival, August 2015. By Francisco Peralta Torrejón (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 110642426-106275.jpg](https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/ers/sp/embedded/110642426-106275.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNHX8kSepq84xNvgOLCmsE2epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS)
Background
Commedia dell'arte, a sixteenth-century Italian art form, comprised included a set of characters moving according to a defined physical set of movements. The facial expressions of the actors were often covered by masks, and their bodies became their main tool of performance. Commedia dell'arte, as well as the stylized movement and gestures and use of mime, are often studied as a source of inspiration for physicality in theater. Jacques Lecoq took the stylistic form of mime and made it into an intensive course of movement study and the poetry of movement, culminating in the Jacques Lecoq International School of Theatre.
Antonin Artaud's "Theater of Cruelty" was an extremely physical theater; the actors there were like "victims burning at the stake, signaling to each other through the flames."
Poor Theater, highlighted by Jerzy Grotowski, has had a significant influence on physical theater. Utilizing the actor's body and voice as primary tools, Grotowski spoke too of the total theater, with the actor revealing the inner self.
Peter Brook, another director who revolutionized theater and likewise had an impact on what we term physical theater, wrote about the space in which theater can occur. "I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged."
Director Steven Berkoff's productions are known to be alive with physicality. Minimal props may provide a basic frame for the actors to use their bodies in and out and around these structures in order to become the thing itself or to move with it to create visual collages and imagery. This is visceral theater at its best.
In the dance arena, the components of contemporary dance have had a direct influence on physical theater. In most drama schools and universities where performance is taught, students are encouraged to study dance either as a mandatory course or as an elective. Contact improvisation and release work are part and parcel of this. Contact improvisation is a particularly integral aspect of the physical theater workshop or rehearsal process and performance. The interplay between dancer actors and the relationships developing through the use of the body create the ebb and flow and powerhouse of the creative dynamic performance.
Rudolf Laban challenged traditional constraints of movement. He worked on a movement flow that allowed freeing of the body. Laban movement was the revolution of movement arts.
These theater and movement practitioners challenged the status quo of traditional theater and movement art practice and set the scene for the emergence of a physical theater that would embody components of these forms.
Overview
Physical Theater may comprise aspects of a written script. In general, the performances are devised. This implies a workshop rehearsal process whereby extensive exploration is initiated to build a theater form far beyond the written word. Productions are innovative and creative, evoking visceral effect from the audience.
No "fourth wall" exists in physical theater, or it is challenged. Not unlike Brecht, where the notion of the separation between audience and actor was questioned, here, too, the collapse of the imaginary wall places actor and audience in an active collaborative relationship.
DV8 Physical Theatre focused on the exploration of complex social and cultural issues and relationships. There were no holds barred. Newson founded DV8 in 1986 in England and was the artistic director until his retirement in 2022. At that time, DV8 ceased to exist. Newson and the company received copious awards, including the Helpmann Award for his show Can We Talk About This? With a background in psychology and social work, Newson's attention to social and cultural issues through the medium of physical theater achieved wide acclaim. DV8 Physical Theatre's work was "about taking risks, aesthetically and physically, about breaking down the barriers between dance and theatre and, above all, communicating ideas and feelings clearly and unpretentiously." The artistic policy stated further that the work was "determined to be radical yet accessible, and to take its work to as wide an audience as possible." In 2013, Newson was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) award for services to contemporary dance.
Complicité, another company emerging from England, stated that their Complicité method could not be defined, but the essential elements were collaboration and a turbulent forward momentum. Its 2013 production of Lionboy fused storytelling, circus skills, and live percussion. Many of the members of Complicité trained at the Jacques Lecoq School in Paris, bringing with them the exclusive mime and movement training. The focus is on devised and physical theater and incorporates Complicité's process of storytelling, clowning, the use of mask, and physical movement performance skills.
Physical Theater is not about a space wherein dance and movement exist alongside text. Rather, there needs to be a seamless interchange and flow between the various components to elicit the most effective theatrical experience.
Bibliography
Brook, Peter. The Empty Space. Penguin, 1990.
"Creating Magic with Physical Theater." CNN, edition.cnn.com/videos/international/2013/12/05/spc-art-of-movement-physical-theater-a.cnn. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.
DV8 Physical Theatre, www.dv8.co.uk. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.
Grotowski, Jerzy. Towards a Poor Theatre. Methuen, 1981.
"Our History." Complicité, www.complicite.org/about-us/our-history/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.
Preston-Dunlap, Valerie. "Rudolf Laban." Trinity Laban, www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/about-us/our-history/rudolf-laban. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025
Rudlin, John. Commedia dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook. Routledge, 1994.
Snow, Georgia. “DV8 Announces Closure as Lloyd Newson Retires.” The Stage, 22 Apr. 2022, www.thestage.co.uk/news/dv8-announces-closure-as-lloyd-newson-retires-physical-theatre-company. Accessed 5 Feb. 2025.