Physical theatre

Research into the training or "work" of physical theatre artists cites an amalgamation of numerous elements adopted as a means to further inform the theatrical research/production.

A dance piece may be called "physical theatre" simply because it includes elements of spoken word, character, or narrative.

Mime and theatrical clowning schools, such as L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, have had a big influence on many modern expressions of physical theatre.

Another physical theatre tradition started with the French master Etienne Decroux (father of corporeal mime).

This idea became known as "Total Theatre" and Barrault advocated that no theatrical element should assume primacy over another: movement, music, visual image, text etc.

Artaud rejected the primacy of the text and suggested a theatre in which the proscenium arch is disposed of to have a more direct relationship with the audience.

Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook, Jacques Copeau and Joan Littlewood have all been consciously influenced by Noh.

Tadashi Suzuki drew partly on Noh and his students and collaborators have disseminated his highly physical training into the west.

As well as Suzuki, the Butoh Movement, which originated from Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno contained elements of Noh imagery and physicality.

Butoh, again, has been influencing Western practitioners in recent years, and has certain similarities with Lecoq's mime training in terms of ideas (impression and consequential embodiment of imagery, use of mask, etc.)