Motion arrested : body politics and the struggle for a physical theatre

Abstract

[From the text]: Physical theatre does have a political agenda but it is not to provide a counter argument in terms of the body/mind divide. It utilises this encompassing approach to argue for the legitimacy and potential of the body and to counteract the argument for the supremacy of the mind over the body. The body is mobilised as a source of power to question conventional views on race, gender, sexual stereotyping and sexuality. This new "physicality" should not be viewed as a negation of the word, the text or the rational, but should be seen rather as an integration of the physical with the vocal, mental and emotional resources of the performer.