Theatre Games

"Clive Barker's book is more than just a guidebook of improvisational games for actors: it is, rather a comprehensive exploration of acting techniques" New York Theatre Review "Theatre Games is a massive contribution to the art of theatre...A bulging portfolio of credo, craft, advice and instruction...It is dazzlingly astute and a thrilling read - quite unlike a text-book, rather a long, fascinating chat into the small hours" The Stage Theatre games are a method of training actors that was developed in the 20th century by leading practitioners including Clive Barker, who trained actors at Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in its heyday. He developed his "theatre games" system over 20 years and proved its effectiveness for teachers, students and actors alike. His famous book combines his philosophy and approach to games, describes how to play them and the acting skills which can develop out of them. The games are arranged in order of complexity and illustrated with photographs and diagrams. This re-issue of this classic and timeless text now includes a DVD with video material showing Clive Barker teaching his games in a studio and contains background information and first hand material from Clive himself. Theatre Games will enable anyone involved in acting to develop their technique without inhibition or artificiality.

Clive Barker joined Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in its heyday in 1955. He appeared in West End productions and directed at the Royal Court, for the German National Theatre and in the US. He lectured at drama schools, was Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick and was joint editor of New Theatre Quarterly.