Grotowski

Jerzy Grotowski was a polish theatre director who was best known for developing poor theatre, a style of theatre that strips theatre down to direct focus onto the actors and their physical and vocal skills. unlike 'rich theatre' which uses detailed and elaborate sets, costumes and special effects. similar to Stanislavski, Grotowski likes theatre to have a meaning and his plays often reflect the truth.

Key aspects of Grotowski's work:

An Audience-Performer Relationship - Grotowski liked to perform his pieces in intimate or unconventional places in order to break the traditional separation between the audience and actors as seen in a normal West End theatre.

Actor Training - Grotowski developed rigorous and intense physical and vocal warm-ups in order to push actors beyond their limits and in an attempt to strip down their emotions and create deeply expressive and realistic performances.

Poor Theatre - Grotowski is known for his work with poor theatre. poor theatre is the name given to the theatre that strips down theatre in order to create an expressive performance using whatever props someone can find or just using the actors on there own. the style emphasised minimalism, using only necessary props and relying on the actor's skill to create meaning.

Some of Grotowski's most notable works include, 'Akropolis' (1962), 'The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus' (1963), and 'Apocalypsis Cum Figuris' (1968-69).

Below show some people using the Grotowski method: