Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction

This new edition of Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction continues to provide an unparalleled overview of non-text-based theatre, from experimental dance to traditional mime. It synthesizes the history, theory and practice of physical theatres for students and performers in what is both a core area of study and a dynamic and innovative aspect of theatrical practice.

This comprehensive book:

• traces the roots of physical performance in classical and popular theatrical traditions
• looks at the Dance Theatre of DV8, Pina Bausch, Liz Aggiss and Jérôme Bel
• examines the contemporary practice of companies such as Théatre du Soleil, Complicite and Goat Island
• focuses on principles and practices in actor training, with reference to figures such as Jacques Lecoq, Lev Dodin, Philippe Gaulier, Monika Pagneux, Etienne Decroux, Anne Bogart and Joan Littlewood.

Extensive cross references ensure that Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction can be used as a standalone text or together with its companion volume, Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader, to provide an invaluable introduction to the physical in theatre and performance.

New to this edition:

• a chapter on The Body and Technology, exploring the impact of digital technologies on the portrayal, perception and reading of the theatre body, spanning from onstage technology to virtual realities and motion capture;

• additional profiles of Jerzy Grotowski, Wrights and Sites, Punchdrunk and Mike Pearson;
• focus on circus and aerial performance, new training practices, immersive and site-specific theatres, and the latest developments in neuroscience, especially as these impact on the place and role of the spectator.

Simon Murray is a performer, director and academic. He is currently Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow, UK, where he taught Theatre Studies and Contemporary Performance until retiring in 2023. He is the author of Jacques Lecoq (2018), Performing Ruins (2020), Mime into Physical Theatre: a UK Cultural History 1970-2000 (with Mark Evans) (2023), and was co-founder and co-editor (until 2016) of the Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (TDPT) journal.

John Keefe is a director, dramaturg and academic. He is currently a Senior Lecturer and Academic Mentor in the AAD School, London Metropolitan University, UK. He is the author of papers on neurocognition and spectatorship in theatres, and Staging and Re-cycling: Retrieving, Reflecting and Re-framing the Archive (with Knut Ove Arntzen) (2023).