Physical Theatre Continuing Discussion - short post

If you were lucky enough to see Odin Teatret’s production of Anderson’s Dream, especially one of the earlier more inspired performances, you saw rare genius - a once in a lifetime kind of production. It was the intersection of Meyerhold and Grotowski, made actual with the brilliance of Eugenio Barba and the actors of Odin Teatret. The production had a certain “unpleasantness” for the spectators, which is a trademark of much of Odin’s work. And of course I mean that in a good way! It grates on you as it goes. It surprises you, confuses you. It shakes your nerves, disturbs, in a very literal way. All the while being completely captivating. To sum it up - the production was alive physically in a way that shook the senses - a biological phenomenon unfolding in front of you. Everything Brecht wished he could be and more. So if there is a hallmark or benchmark of modern “Physical Theatre” then I would place it squarely at the point of Anderson’s Dream. And so we must ask, what were they working with and how, to craft this production? Without going into minute detail and description we could just say actions, logic, sensation, thought, etc. But the key is that they were rendered in a way that was pulsating, the senses were activated, highly, onstage and off. How else to distinguish? In lesser work, performers may believe that a physical gesture alone, done with a certain tact or precision will alone convey the immediacy of the moment and the full implication of the event. What they miss is the need or rather that full experience of a gesture or physical action which has immediate biological and sensual repercussions on both themselves and on the spectators, and this is only accomplished by including specific thought, sensation, awareness and intention. Only then do you get jumping off points for the spontaneity of the creative subconscious and the driving, living impulses that makes theatre distinct from other presentational arts. Without that specific kind of spontaneity the world of the stage becomes a kind of manipulative drudgery.