Edward Gordon Craig

Biography
● Born in 1872 in Britain
● His mother, Ellen Terry, was a famous actor
● He joined Henry Irving’s theatre company
● He quit acting when he was 25 to become a designer and
theorist
● His first productions didn’t make a lot of money so he left
Britain to do productions in Germany, Russia, and Italy
● He eventually founded the Gordon Craig School for the
Art of the Theatre in Italy, which had to shut down at the
start of WWI
● Died in 1966
Developing the Theory
● Craig disliked the theatrical style of the time, which
was an over-exaggerated imitation of real life
● He thought it didn’t capture the audience’s
imagination
● He thought Henry Irving was the perfect actor
● One of the things he liked about Irving’s style was
that he would boil down a character to their most
essential traits and then expand those traits until they
were larger than life.
The Theory
● The main goal is to evoke the ‘spirit’ of something
instead of just imitating it
● Symbolism, atmosphere, and emotion, and using
movement to create each of these things
● The director is the ‘true artist’ and should have complete
control over every aspect of the show, including all of the
actor’s movements on stage
● Scenes should be built around 1 object to give it
importance
● The object could be a piece of furniture, part of the set, or
a symbol.
The “Über-Marionette”
● Extension of the ‘mask’
● Able to hold facial expressions and sustain movements
long enough to create dramatic tension
● The “Uber-marionette” is the perfect actor
● Movements informed by symbolism instead of
motivation
● Different actors would portray a character the same way
if they had the same direction.

(Frantic Assembly’s production of Othello)

Training the Actors
These are the traits that Craig wanted to instill in actors at his acting school:

● Harmony ● Exploration
● Vitality ● Honesty
● Authenticity ● Modesty
● Passion ● Open mindedness

It was very important that actors were always ‘present’ in the performance.
Craig also wanted the actors to have a strong sense of imagination so that they
could ‘believe’ the minimalistic set and then make the audience accept the set as
well.
Technical aspects
● Use of neutrally-colored flats, straight lines, contrast between light and dark, and 3D
architecture (instead of painted backdrops)
● Everything (include floor and ceiling pieces) should move
● This movement should be a part of the performance and contribute to the
atmosphere
Performances that use Craig’s theory
● Productions directed by
Robert Wilson
● Productions using Adolphe
Appia’s set design
● Punchdrunk (immersive
theatre)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cS-WFNLBVk