We have started studying the theatre style of Stephen Berkoff in our drama lessons.
Berkoff's style is non-naturalistic, he focuses much more on the movement of the actor rather than the voice, he states that the only use for the script is to 'minimalise and physicalise' the story; it enables the story to be told in the simplest, most effective way. His Actor's use techniques such as background movement, repetitive actions and mime. Berkoff said that it was important 'to see how I could bring mime together with the spoken word as its opposite partner, creating the form and structure of the piece'. This very interesting concept provides the core of his work, the mimelike, staccato movements accompanied by vivid, imaginative language.
Berkoff studied at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. Jacques Lecoq was originally a gymnast and athlete who later found physical theatre after becoming aware of the beauty and rhythm in athletic movement. His training was aimed at nurturing the creativity of the performer, as opposed to giving them a codified set of skills. Lecoq's instruction encouraged an intimate relationship between the audience and the performer. He also wrote on the art and philosophy of miming: tracing mime-like behaviour to early childhood development stages. All of these aspects have obviously influenced the style of Berkoff, who focuses around the relationship with the audience and mime-like movements
Berkoff's earliest plays are adaptations of works by Franz Kafka, who's work is said to 'fuse elements of realism and the fantastic', he explores themes of alienation, existential anxiety and absurdity by often depicting isolated characters in surreal predicaments. The most well-known of Berkoff's Kafka adaptations is The Metamorphis, he said that 'It shook me when i read it' and he strongly connected with the 'dream-like stories', he also spoke of Kafka's 'acute perception of detail, detail that is not ordinary and programmed, the detail of life below the frustrations'. It is evident that the latter element of Kafka's work has immensely inspired Berkoff's own work as he uses vivid detailed imagery in his language to inspire the physical movements within the piece.
Berkoff was also inspired by Antonin Artaud who created the concept of Theatre of Cruelty, he had this idea that theatre needed to move away from mundane structured melodrama towards grotesque physical theatre that made the audience feel physically frightened, hurt and emotionally attacked. He explored the power of words and gestures to evoke strong emotions. It is very obvious in Berkoff's work to see how Artaud's ideas have influenced him: Berkoff's characters use rude language, talk about crude subjects, experience violent outbursts, have sex, humiliate each other as well as the intense physical movement to accompany the content of the play. Drama critic says his style of theatre 'is so powerful, so visceral, that it forces audiences to react' which is the reason why most people have love/hate reaction to experiencing his work.
Artaud also had a theory called Total Theatre which is key to Berkoff's style. The aim of Total Theatre is very similar to that of Theatre of cruelty: to create extreme moods and give the audience an overwhelming experience and to shock, amuse, scare, or amaze them. However, Total Theatre is basically the idea that every aspect of theatre must have purpose: every movement, that is choreographed; to each line, that is learned perfectly; to each lighting effect, that is used to convey a mood or message; to each sound effect, that enhances the audience’s experience; to each prop that has a use. This results in minimalist performances with bare stages and very little language so that audiences are forced to focus more on the meaning of the physical movement and not on all the effects or the creation of a scene. For example, in The Trial, only the cast, very simple frames and a rope made up the whole staging.
Another person Berkoff took inspiration from was Bertolt Brecht, an anti-fascist, German playwright who left Germany when Hitler came to power. He is well-known for his 'Alienation Effect' of speaking directly to the audience in order to break the fourth wall. Berkoff uses this in East to destroy the naturalism and force the audience to relate to the play on a deeper level.
Berkoff's style is non-naturalistic, he focuses much more on the movement of the actor rather than the voice, he states that the only use for the script is to 'minimalise and physicalise' the story; it enables the story to be told in the simplest, most effective way. His Actor's use techniques such as background movement, repetitive actions and mime. Berkoff said that it was important 'to see how I could bring mime together with the spoken word as its opposite partner, creating the form and structure of the piece'. This very interesting concept provides the core of his work, the mimelike, staccato movements accompanied by vivid, imaginative language.
Berkoff studied at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. Jacques Lecoq was originally a gymnast and athlete who later found physical theatre after becoming aware of the beauty and rhythm in athletic movement. His training was aimed at nurturing the creativity of the performer, as opposed to giving them a codified set of skills. Lecoq's instruction encouraged an intimate relationship between the audience and the performer. He also wrote on the art and philosophy of miming: tracing mime-like behaviour to early childhood development stages. All of these aspects have obviously influenced the style of Berkoff, who focuses around the relationship with the audience and mime-like movements
Berkoff's earliest plays are adaptations of works by Franz Kafka, who's work is said to 'fuse elements of realism and the fantastic', he explores themes of alienation, existential anxiety and absurdity by often depicting isolated characters in surreal predicaments. The most well-known of Berkoff's Kafka adaptations is The Metamorphis, he said that 'It shook me when i read it' and he strongly connected with the 'dream-like stories', he also spoke of Kafka's 'acute perception of detail, detail that is not ordinary and programmed, the detail of life below the frustrations'. It is evident that the latter element of Kafka's work has immensely inspired Berkoff's own work as he uses vivid detailed imagery in his language to inspire the physical movements within the piece.
Berkoff was also inspired by Antonin Artaud who created the concept of Theatre of Cruelty, he had this idea that theatre needed to move away from mundane structured melodrama towards grotesque physical theatre that made the audience feel physically frightened, hurt and emotionally attacked. He explored the power of words and gestures to evoke strong emotions. It is very obvious in Berkoff's work to see how Artaud's ideas have influenced him: Berkoff's characters use rude language, talk about crude subjects, experience violent outbursts, have sex, humiliate each other as well as the intense physical movement to accompany the content of the play. Drama critic says his style of theatre 'is so powerful, so visceral, that it forces audiences to react' which is the reason why most people have love/hate reaction to experiencing his work.
Artaud also had a theory called Total Theatre which is key to Berkoff's style. The aim of Total Theatre is very similar to that of Theatre of cruelty: to create extreme moods and give the audience an overwhelming experience and to shock, amuse, scare, or amaze them. However, Total Theatre is basically the idea that every aspect of theatre must have purpose: every movement, that is choreographed; to each line, that is learned perfectly; to each lighting effect, that is used to convey a mood or message; to each sound effect, that enhances the audience’s experience; to each prop that has a use. This results in minimalist performances with bare stages and very little language so that audiences are forced to focus more on the meaning of the physical movement and not on all the effects or the creation of a scene. For example, in The Trial, only the cast, very simple frames and a rope made up the whole staging.
Another person Berkoff took inspiration from was Bertolt Brecht, an anti-fascist, German playwright who left Germany when Hitler came to power. He is well-known for his 'Alienation Effect' of speaking directly to the audience in order to break the fourth wall. Berkoff uses this in East to destroy the naturalism and force the audience to relate to the play on a deeper level.
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