Shakespeare and the Lecoq Tradition

This essay describes how an actor trained in what I call 'the Lecoq tradition' may approach Shakespearean performance. After giving a brief context for Lecoq's influence, I indicate some ways in which the actor uses his or her body in a playful and rhythmically precise manner to construct and perform meanings in the theatre. I show how a conception of theatre as 'game' can be transposed into the dramatic dimension. The primary impulse behind Lecoq-influenced work is a search for form, and I discuss how this can reveal itself through an eclectic approach to style and genre that sometimes leads to accusations of 'intercultural tourism'. Examples of Lecoq-inflected practice are drawn from Shakespearean productions by Ariane Mnouchkine ( Richard II ) and Complicite ( The Winter's Tale, Measure for Measure ) as well as my own work for the University of Central Lancashire in Preston ( A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth ). At the close, I reflect upon some of the issues at stake in the agendas and practices of the Lecoq tradition.