Selecting a Practitioner

When studying drama, it is important to explore the work and techniques of different practitioners. Each practitioner brings a unique approach to theatre, influencing how stories are told and how performance can be shaped. Below are some key practitioners and theatre companies you may study, along with reasons for studying them.

Steven Berkoff

Overview:

Steven Berkoff is a British actor, playwright, and director known for his bold and innovative approaches to theatre.

His style combines physical theatre, expressionism, and avant-garde elements, often using exaggerated movements and stylised performances.

Key Features of Berkoff’s Work:

Physical Theatre: Berkoff emphasised physicality and movement to communicate emotions and ideas, with actors often using their entire bodies to express meaning.

Stylised, Exaggerated Performance: His work often includes exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and vocal techniques to create a heightened, almost surreal atmosphere.

Direct Audience Address: Characters in Berkoff’s plays may speak directly to the audience, breaking the fourth wall to engage them and create an interactive experience.

Minimalist Staging: Berkoff often uses bare stages with little or no props, relying on the actors' physicality and vocal work to create the world of the play.

Key Works:

"Metamorphosis" – A modern adaptation of Kafka's novella, focusing on the transformation of Gregor Samsa and using highly physical performances.

"East" – A play that deals with life in working-class East London, blending realism with exaggerated performances.

Why Study Berkoff?:

His work encourages exploration of the relationship between actor and audience, as well as an understanding of how physicality and stylised performance can communicate complex emotions and themes.

Graeae Theatre Company

Overview:

Founded in 1980, Graeae Theatre Company is one of the UK's leading theatre companies dedicated to disability arts. It creates theatre that is inclusive, diverse, and focuses on the experiences of disabled people.

The company works to challenge perceptions of disability and uses innovative performance styles to promote inclusivity and equality.

Key Features of Graeae’s Work:

Inclusive Theatre: Graeae is known for producing work that includes actors with disabilities in leading roles, integrating various access elements such as sign language, audio description, and captioning.

Physical Theatre: Much of Graeae’s work involves physical performance, exploring how movement can represent and convey the experiences of disabled people.

Multidimensional Storytelling: Graeae’s productions often incorporate elements such as live music, dance, and digital media, blending different forms of performance.

Collaborative Work: The company often works with a diverse range of artists, including disabled and non-disabled performers, directors, and designers.

Key Works:

"The Iron Man" (a stage adaptation of Ted Hughes’ novel) – A combination of puppetry, physical theatre, and live music.

"The Threepenny Opera" – A reimagined version of Brecht’s classic, incorporating elements of disability representation and physical storytelling.

Why Study Graeae?:

Graeae’s work encourages exploration of inclusive and accessible theatre, making it a powerful example of how theatre can be a tool for social change and representation. Studying Graeae can deepen understanding of diversity and collaboration in theatre-making.

Handspring Puppet Company

Overview:

Handspring Puppet Company is a South African theatre company best known for its work in puppetry and physical theatre.

The company is renowned for its innovative puppet design, using large-scale, intricate puppets to tell powerful, emotional stories.

Key Features of Handspring's Work:

Puppetry: Handspring are masters of puppet theatre, often using life-sized puppets that are manipulated by actors to create lifelike movements and emotions.

Physicality: Puppeteers perform alongside their puppets, with a strong focus on the physical movements and gestures required to bring the puppet to life.

Minimalist Staging: Similar to Berkoff’s work, Handspring often uses minimalist set designs, focusing attention on the puppetry and the actors' movements.

Storytelling through Puppets: The company’s productions are often deeply emotional and explore complex themes, with puppets used to represent everything from animals to human characters.

Key Works:

"War Horse" – Perhaps Handspring's most famous production, where the story of a young boy and his horse during World War I is told using large-scale puppets to represent the horses.

"The Lion and the Jewel" – A production featuring intricate puppetry to convey a variety of emotions and settings.

Why Study Handspring?:

Handspring’s work allows students to explore puppetry as an art form and how it can be used to tell powerful, emotive stories. It highlights the importance of physical theatre and the ability to create empathy and connection through non-human characters.

Kneehigh

Overview:

Kneehigh is an English theatre company known for its bold, imaginative theatre, often blending elements of physical theatre, live music, and storytelling.

The company is renowned for its use of fairy tales, myths, and folk stories, often reinterpreting them with a modern or experimental twist.

Key Features of Kneehigh’s Work:

Physical Theatre: Kneehigh uses dynamic, physical performances to communicate the emotions and themes of the piece, often relying on expressive movement and gesture rather than dialogue.

Storytelling through Music and Song: The company frequently uses live music to underscore the themes and atmosphere of the performance, making music an integral part of the storytelling process.

Visual Aesthetic: Kneehigh productions often have a unique visual style, incorporating unconventional set design, costumes, and props to create striking and memorable imagery.

Non-linear Narrative: Kneehigh’s productions sometimes play with time and structure, weaving different narratives together to create complex, multi-layered stories.

Key Works:

"The Wild Bride" – A reimagined folk tale involving physical theatre, live music, and surreal imagery.

"A Matter of Life and Death" – A contemporary reworking of a 1940s film, blending physicality, music, and humour.

Why Study Kneehigh?:

Kneehigh’s work encourages experimentation with storytelling techniques, combining physical theatre, live music, and multi-disciplinary approaches to create immersive, theatrical experiences. Studying Kneehigh helps explore how theatre can blend multiple forms to create a rich, dynamic performance.

Katie Mitchell

Overview:

Katie Mitchell is a British director and theatre practitioner known for her highly detailed, realistic style of theatre.

Her work often focuses on psychological realism, exploring complex characters and their emotional lives in depth.

Key Features of Katie Mitchell’s Work:

Realism: Mitchell is known for bringing a high degree of realism to the stage, creating detailed, truthful representations of characters and settings.

Naturalistic Performance: The acting style in her productions often focuses on creating believable, psychologically complex characters who act in a naturalistic way.

Innovative Staging: Mitchell is known for her innovative use of space, often creating immersive, detailed environments to enhance the realism of her productions.

Directorial Control: As a director, Mitchell is highly involved in all aspects of production, from staging to lighting, to create a unified, immersive experience.

Key Works:

"The Waves" – A stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, exploring the inner lives of six characters.

"The City" – A production that examined the disorienting, fragmented experience of modern urban life.

Why Study Katie Mitchell?:

Mitchell’s work is invaluable for studying realism, psychological complexity, and how directors can create highly detailed and immersive worlds that reveal deeper layers of character and narrative.

Why Study Practitioners?

Studying practitioners in GCSE Drama is essential because it allows you to:

Understand Different Styles: By studying the techniques and philosophies of various practitioners, you gain a wider understanding of different theatrical styles and approaches, which can influence your own work.

Develop Performance Techniques: Practitioners offer a variety of techniques—whether in acting, directing, or stage design—that can enhance your practical skills.

Inspire Creativity: Learning from influential theatre makers can inspire new ideas and approaches to creating your own performances.

Contextualise Your Work: Understanding the work of practitioners helps place your own ideas and creative choices within a broader historical or contemporary context.

By studying practitioners like Steven Berkoff, Graeae Theatre Company, Kneehigh, and others, you can deepen your appreciation for theatre as an art form and develop a more critical, creative approach to making and analysing theatre.