Gecko (theatre company)
Encyclopedia
The Gecko Theatre Company is an international physical theatre company based in the UK. Gecko was founded in 2001 by Amit Lahav and Allel Nedjari, who became co-artistic directors of the company . Their mission is to “serve as a launch pad for our audience’s imaginations, awakening their senses and engaging their emotions” . Gecko uses very few verbal elements in their work, which results in a collage of physical actions and musical segments. Because the compositions lack speech, the actions tend to have many layers of significance. The company embraces many different forms of performance-based art, like mime, clowning, dance and circus . The concept of ‘actor as creator’ from Jacques Lecoq
’s educational philosophy is at the heart of Gecko’s work . Most of their work is based on playful, improvised exploration and physical openness combined with skill .
had left us feeling dulled and uninspired. Unlike so much of the theatre we were used to experiencing, we wanted our work to serve as a launch pad for our audiences’ imaginations, to awaken their senses and to fill them with energy and vitality."
, a longtime collaborator of Lahav and Nedjari, Glass trained under Lecoq. A major idea with the David Glass Ensemble that can be seen in the Gecko Theatre Company is the importance of participatory activities . Where Gecko breaks off from the David Glass Ensemble and Lecoq’s philosophies is that “they have not, so far, used an existing story or text as a starting point,” . Instead, Gecko Theatre Company focuses on their personal experiences, relationships, and emotional responses to the world for inspiration. However, Gecko attempted to follow Glass’s ideal methodology for creative development, which included five steps: Preparation, Creative origination, Creative organization, Manifestation/presentation, and Reflection and renewal . As with most devised work theatre companies, they never consider any of their productions to be completely finished. These five steps were crucial in Gecko’s process of creating one of their major productions, The Arab and the Jew.
, the Lyric Theatre
, the New Wolsey Theatre
, and the Tobacco Factory
, all of which are located in the United Kingdom. The venues offered their support on the basis that the company “undertakes audience-development activities during the process of creating a piece: these include workshops, residencies, and work-in-progress performances,” . This was an extremely important aspect in their developmental process. The fact that the piece was presented to a live audience basically every night created a genuine exploration in the creation of the show. The performers shared this personal project with an audience at every point along the path from creation to polishing the piece so that their feedback was a crucial element in the direction the project took. “The Arab and the Jew is both a riot of sound, image and movement and an ambitious dance of reason and conciliation-performed with Gecko’s characteristic exuberance and physical skill,” . This production was not begun as a political piece. Nedjari and Lahav did not even originally do extensive research on current Middle East conflicts . However, through creating this piece, the company took a tentative step toward political theatre and became more aware of the socio-political situation of their company and relationships . The Arab and the Jew did not receive initial Arts Council funding. The financial uncertainty of Gecko and this work meant that all the members had to collaborate and perform various tasks and fill production positions . The group was lucky to have Dryden Goodwin
spend three extremely productive days with the company during The Arab and the Jew’s early stages, but had to leave when they were unable to pay him for an extensive period of time .
The first stage in Gecko’s work is preparation, in which it is crucial that they train and develop a physical vocabulary for the show and relate it to the subject matter and their original research. The company was put through demanding warm-ups, which honed their ability to communicate with and respond to one another physically. The Gecko group believes that through physical experimentation, the mental and emotional lines of exploration are opened . Specifically for The Arab and the Jew, the creators knew that wanted to have a boxing match at some point in the piece, so from the beginning the performers received boxing training. In one section of the training after Lahav reacted strongly to a hit from Nedjari, he “acknowledged that he had frightened himself with his own sense of aggression but emphasized that this kind of emotional discovery was essential to their journey,” .
the company began to organize the images and interactions within the show and learned quickly that not every scene meant the same thing to everyone. This meant that in most cases, the audience left the theatre with different, distinct stories and meanings to what they had witnessed . During the organization process Gecko began to do a lot more work with music because Lahav believed that music was an integral part of the experimentation and creative process. The music began to give the group a loose format for the show. They would time compositions to fit in specific sections of music and it started to shape the production . Around this point in the process the group moved to the Newbury and finally had access to technicians and technical resources, so the majority of the time spent at the theatre focused on set design. The set design was based upon an idea the group had originally for a “white walled, ‘neutral’ location into which their two characters would fall at the beginning of the piece,” . This concept quickly made the company realize that they were, willingly or not, presenting a political piece. The set “illuminated the fact that the area of hidden conflict between them was not solely personal, but grew out of a territory which was contested in both geographical and historical terms,” . Finally at Bristol and the Edinburgh Festival
, Gecko obtained Arts Council funding for The Arab and the Jew and was able to bring Jackie Shemesh onto the team for lighting design. Shemesh and the company wanted to break the stage into key areas, and did so for example; by creating a tightly lit corridor that one of the characters seems to get pulled down . During the organizational stage of the process, many of the technical aspects and formatting of the show was complete and the company was able to focus on the next stage.
Jacques Lecoq
Jacques Pierre Lecoq born in Paris, was a French actor, mime and acting instructor.He is most famous for his methods on physical theatre, movement and mime that he taught at the school he founded in Paris, L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq from 1956 until his death in...
’s educational philosophy is at the heart of Gecko’s work . Most of their work is based on playful, improvised exploration and physical openness combined with skill .
Mission
According to Gecko's press pack, the company "was formed in 2001, fuelled by a shared response to theatre that for yearshad left us feeling dulled and uninspired. Unlike so much of the theatre we were used to experiencing, we wanted our work to serve as a launch pad for our audiences’ imaginations, to awaken their senses and to fill them with energy and vitality."
The Process
Gecko’s influence was not solely from Lecoq, but from Lahav and Nedjari’s work with the David Glass Ensemble. Along with Steven BerkoffSteven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff is an English actor, writer and director. Best known for his performance as General Orlov in the James Bond film Octopussy, he is typically cast in villanous roles, such as Lt...
, a longtime collaborator of Lahav and Nedjari, Glass trained under Lecoq. A major idea with the David Glass Ensemble that can be seen in the Gecko Theatre Company is the importance of participatory activities . Where Gecko breaks off from the David Glass Ensemble and Lecoq’s philosophies is that “they have not, so far, used an existing story or text as a starting point,” . Instead, Gecko Theatre Company focuses on their personal experiences, relationships, and emotional responses to the world for inspiration. However, Gecko attempted to follow Glass’s ideal methodology for creative development, which included five steps: Preparation, Creative origination, Creative organization, Manifestation/presentation, and Reflection and renewal . As with most devised work theatre companies, they never consider any of their productions to be completely finished. These five steps were crucial in Gecko’s process of creating one of their major productions, The Arab and the Jew.
Past Productions
- Taylor's DummiesTaylor's DummiesTaylor's Dummies is a physical theatre production by the Gecko theatre company. The play has scored rave reviews not only in local but national press, due to the sheer energy and intelligence that the performers utilise...
- voted best performance off-West EndFringe theatreFringe theatre is theatre that is not of the mainstream. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which name comes from Robert Kemp, who described the unofficial companies performing at the same time as the second Edinburgh International Festival as a ‘fringe’, writing: ‘Round the fringe...
by Time Out Live Awards and has toured nationally and internationally. - The RaceRace (Mamet play)Race is a play by David Mamet that premiered on Broadway on December 6, 2009.-Production:The cast included Emmy Award winner James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington, and Richard Thomas. Mamet also directed...
- performed at the Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh FestivalThe Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, won a Total Theatre Award, and has toured nationally and internationally, including a four-week run in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. - The Arab and the Jew
- The OvercoatThe Overcoat"The Overcoat" is the title of a short story by Ukrainian-born Russian author Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story and its author have had great influence on Russian literature, thus spawning Fyodor Dostoyevsky's famous quote: "We all come out from Gogol's 'Overcoat'." The story has been...
adapted from Nikolai Gogol's short story
The Arab and the Jew
The Arab and the Jew was the Gecko Theatre Company’s third production. The piece was the company’s first step toward political theatre, although unintentional at the beginning. The project began as a “highly personal investigation into their [Nedjari and Lahav] own ethnic and cultural heritage and how that affects their relationship,” . Nedjari and Lahav both state that their cultural heritage has always been a strong influence on their work. “Allel Nedjari and Amit Lahav grew up on opposite sides of the Arab-Isreali divide. Here they celebrate their brotherhood and laugh and cry at their reflections,” . The Arab and the Jew was co-commissioned by the Drum TheatreDrum Theatre
Drum Theatre were a British pop group, active in the mid 1980s. The band released four singles and one album, after which they disbanded.-Singles:* "Eldorado" - European number 1, UK #44 ITA#2* "Living in the Past" - UK #67 ITA#25...
, the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre
-Australia:* Lyric Theatre, Sydney, within The Star casino in Sydney, New South Wales* Lyric Theatre, part of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, in Brisbane, Queensland-United Kingdom:...
, the New Wolsey Theatre
New Wolsey Theatre
A 400-seat theatre in the heart of Ipswich, Suffolk's county town, The was established in 2000, building on the foundations of the regional repertory company that had opened the theatre in the late 1970s....
, and the Tobacco Factory
Tobacco Factory
The Tobacco Factory is the last remaining part of the old Wills Tobacco site on Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol. It was saved from demolition by the architect George Ferguson and through his vision has become a model of urban regeneration...
, all of which are located in the United Kingdom. The venues offered their support on the basis that the company “undertakes audience-development activities during the process of creating a piece: these include workshops, residencies, and work-in-progress performances,” . This was an extremely important aspect in their developmental process. The fact that the piece was presented to a live audience basically every night created a genuine exploration in the creation of the show. The performers shared this personal project with an audience at every point along the path from creation to polishing the piece so that their feedback was a crucial element in the direction the project took. “The Arab and the Jew is both a riot of sound, image and movement and an ambitious dance of reason and conciliation-performed with Gecko’s characteristic exuberance and physical skill,” . This production was not begun as a political piece. Nedjari and Lahav did not even originally do extensive research on current Middle East conflicts . However, through creating this piece, the company took a tentative step toward political theatre and became more aware of the socio-political situation of their company and relationships . The Arab and the Jew did not receive initial Arts Council funding. The financial uncertainty of Gecko and this work meant that all the members had to collaborate and perform various tasks and fill production positions . The group was lucky to have Dryden Goodwin
Dryden Goodwin
Dryden Goodwin is a British artist, known for his intricate drawings, often in combination with photography, film, large-scale, screen-based installations and soundtracks.- Selected works :...
spend three extremely productive days with the company during The Arab and the Jew’s early stages, but had to leave when they were unable to pay him for an extensive period of time .
Preparation
The first stage in Gecko’s work is preparation, in which it is crucial that they train and develop a physical vocabulary for the show and relate it to the subject matter and their original research. The company was put through demanding warm-ups, which honed their ability to communicate with and respond to one another physically. The Gecko group believes that through physical experimentation, the mental and emotional lines of exploration are opened . Specifically for The Arab and the Jew, the creators knew that wanted to have a boxing match at some point in the piece, so from the beginning the performers received boxing training. In one section of the training after Lahav reacted strongly to a hit from Nedjari, he “acknowledged that he had frightened himself with his own sense of aggression but emphasized that this kind of emotional discovery was essential to their journey,” .
Creative Origination
The second stage that the Gecko Theatre Company went through in their development process for The Arab and the Jew was creative origination, which is directly related to preparation. Because Nedjari and Lahav went into the process without a solidified narrative, structure, or specific meaning to the production, the creative origination portion of the development was extremely important. At first the company had many different types of narratives they were exploring, including a story about two trombonists searching for sheet music. This idea obviously did not make the final cut but contained the theme of celebrating their relationship as performers while revealing the hidden conflicts within it . Instead of trying to sit down and write something, Gecko used physical improvisation at the beginning stages of development. “When working physically, Lahav and Nedjari tended not to spend a long time on any one thing but to shift between several different ideas: developing each incrementally, filming everything and frequently breaking off to watch themselves and discuss what they saw and how they felt,” . Two major physical compositions came out of this improvisation: ‘status gripping’ and the image of breaking a horse using two people. These images helped the group realize more consciously that a major factor in their work is the idea of control and power over another . This realization led the group in a more specific direction and helped in the creation of the piece. Even though Gecko technically moved on to the next step, creative origination is never over and is continually used throughout the process of devised theatre.Creative Organization
After a large bit of exploration is complete, Gecko moves on to the creative organization stage. In the case of The Arab and the Jew, because they had performances almost every night for a live audience, this stage was happening constantly. Under these circumstances, all the stages of the creation process for the piece were basically happening simultaneously. These “work-in-progress performances are used much more in devised practice than in other forms of theatre and grew out of its collaborative nature and its emphasis on the process over the product,” . Nedjari enjoyed the fact that the company was presenting its work to public audiences and was receiving feedback on it. He stated, “in a real true sense of the word we’re performers; we deal with a live audience,” . While performing at the New Wolsey TheatreNew Wolsey Theatre
A 400-seat theatre in the heart of Ipswich, Suffolk's county town, The was established in 2000, building on the foundations of the regional repertory company that had opened the theatre in the late 1970s....
the company began to organize the images and interactions within the show and learned quickly that not every scene meant the same thing to everyone. This meant that in most cases, the audience left the theatre with different, distinct stories and meanings to what they had witnessed . During the organization process Gecko began to do a lot more work with music because Lahav believed that music was an integral part of the experimentation and creative process. The music began to give the group a loose format for the show. They would time compositions to fit in specific sections of music and it started to shape the production . Around this point in the process the group moved to the Newbury and finally had access to technicians and technical resources, so the majority of the time spent at the theatre focused on set design. The set design was based upon an idea the group had originally for a “white walled, ‘neutral’ location into which their two characters would fall at the beginning of the piece,” . This concept quickly made the company realize that they were, willingly or not, presenting a political piece. The set “illuminated the fact that the area of hidden conflict between them was not solely personal, but grew out of a territory which was contested in both geographical and historical terms,” . Finally at Bristol and the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, Gecko obtained Arts Council funding for The Arab and the Jew and was able to bring Jackie Shemesh onto the team for lighting design. Shemesh and the company wanted to break the stage into key areas, and did so for example; by creating a tightly lit corridor that one of the characters seems to get pulled down . During the organizational stage of the process, many of the technical aspects and formatting of the show was complete and the company was able to focus on the next stage.