Theatre company research

THEATRE COMPANY RESEARCH

DV8

-They are a theatre company based in London which was founded by Lloyd Newson, Michelle Richecoeur and Nigel Charnock. The company focuses on political issues through the desire to communicate feelings and emotion. They use dance and movement to get their ideas and points across to the audience. Lloyd founded the company when he became frustrated with contemporary dance and the lack of subject matter within it. Subjects they explored include freedom of speech, human rights, multiculturalism, tolerance/intolerance, gender roles, sexual identity and social class, as well as personal issues. DV8 are known to take risks in their work and they strive to make the audience question their own beliefs and attitudes. They work towards breaking the barrier between dance and theatre.

FRANTIC ASSEMBLY

-Frantic Assembly was founded in 1994 by Scott Graham, Steven Hoggett, and Vicki Middleton. None of the founders had studied the arts previously but were interested and wanted to create their own theatre company. They wanted to create non-naturalistic theatre through movement and music. They say that the movement and music shouldn’t take the focus away from the storyline. Their work can either be ‘brutal and dynamic’ and at other times ‘tender and fragile’. Frantic assembly is about collaboration, empowerment and the ‘constant desire to improve’

COMPLICITE

-Complicite was founded in 1983 by Simon McBurney, Annabel Arden, and Marcello Magni. They use extreme movement to present their work. Their work often involves major technology such as projection screens and cameras and also visually rich stage language. They have devised some of their work from classic texts and adapted them to fit their criteria.

KNEEHIGH

-Kneehigh was founded by Mike Shepard and it’s based in Cornwall. The company is based in barns on the Cornish coast. Their work is often based around mythical tales. Emma Rice was their artistic director. They have performed their work in outside locations such as the Eden Project and the Minack Theatre. They use elements such as puppetry, live music and visual imagery. Kneehigh have taken their work and productions worldwide which shows just how successful they are. Although they are a touring company, they have their own home performance space named the ‘Asylum’.