Physical theatre is a catch-all term used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling through primarily physical means. There are several quite distinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre", which has led to a lot of confusion as to what the definition of physical theatre actually is.

The term "Physical theatre" has been applied to performances consisting mainly of:

• Mime
• Contemporary dance
• Theatrical Clowning and other physical comedy
• Some forms of puppetry
• Theatrical Acrobatics

While performances based around all of the above could equally claim to be "Physical Theatre", the key distinguising factor is a focus on narrative, character and storytelling. However, it is often difficult to draw a distinct boundary between what is and what is not physical theatre, and distinctions are often made quite arbitrarily by critics and performing companies.

More on [ Physical theatre ]

Village Voice | Theatre

The Wiz at Encores! and Central Park's Twelfth Night Both Somehow Lack Vividness
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500
We use the word "vulgar" in two senses, one favorable and one less so. Art can be vulgar by having the common touch, the gift of pleasing the largest possible audience. Or it can be vulgar by being common itself, undifferentiated in its banal coarseness. Anybody or anything can win popularity by ...
2009 Lincoln Center Festival Preview
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500
The stately institutions around Lincoln Center's plaza are monuments to 19th-century forms. Ballet. Opera. Boulevard plays. That's worth remembering as we build our expectations for this year's Lincoln Center Festival, the annual three-week presenting series starting July 7. Summertime is an exte...
Molière's Archbishop Supreme Tartuffe Shifted to Harlem, Brecht's Chalk Circle Updated to Now
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500
What's more contemporary than a classic? It seems as if each new season brings us masterpieces propelled helplessly into the present, or at least the more recent past. Directors treat us to Oedipus as a suburban dad, Hamlet as an emo kid, Hedda surrounded by robots. Sometimes, these updates illum...

NYT > Theater

Theater Review | 'Speedmouse': Two Nimble Australians: Much Talk, Many Antics
By JASON ZINOMAN Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:29:45 -0000
In their theatrical lark “Speedmouse” the affable Australian doofuses known as the Umbilical Brothers practice a chaotic brand of unadulterated silliness.
Theater Review | 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream': Unsmooth Course of True Love, Scampering Over a Connecticut Lawn
By CHARLES ISHERWOOD Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:15:49 -0000
Music by Stew, the composer-lyricist of Broadway’s “Passing Strange,” is the chief novelty of this Shakespeare on the Sound production.
Karl Malden, Actor Who Played the Uncommon Everyman, Dies at 97
By ROBERT BERKVIST Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:44:52 -0000
Mr. Malden’s half-century in show business carried him from theater to films to television’s “The Streets of San Francisco.”
Harve Presnell, Singing Actor, Dies at 75
By WILLIAM GRIMES Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:53:27 -0000
Mr. Presnell’s operatic baritone thrilled audiences in the stage and film versions of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
Theater for a New Audience Announces Season, With Room for More Shakespeare
By PATRICK HEALY Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:32:43 -0000
The leaders of Theater for a New Audience said they were hoping to remount their recent acclaimed productions of “Othello” and “Hamlet” in the 2009-10 season.
Theater: Hits That Never Can Say Goodbye
By BEN BRANTLEY Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:40:36 -0000
“Thriller Live,” a show in London devoted to the music of Michael Jackson, is standard jukebox fare.

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