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At its simplest, you could define Physical theatre as a form of theatre that puts emphasis on movement rather than dialogue. But remember there are a huge number of variations as the genre covers a broad range of work. But essentially Physical theatre is anything that puts the human body at the centre of the storytelling process. As a result it’s often abstract in style, using movement in a stylised and representational way. With the expression of ideas choreographed through movement, such performers use very little or no dialogue at all.

DV8 are arguably among the main practitioners of Physical theatre as a ‘full’ art form. They focus on looking at the dramatic potential that can be unlocked from movement. Their work is often described as existing at a crossroads where dance, sound and drama meet. DV8 are well known for using Physical theatre to explore complex aspects of human relationships and social or cultural issues.

In DV8’s production, Can We Talk About This? the director and performers used Physical theatre to express extremely complicated and delicate political and social issues. The main theme of the production looked at multiculturalism, separatism and militant Islam. Words and bodywork were combined to express what’s sometimes difficult to put into words alone.