Original article published on: ft.com/content/d7ba0ea0-1def-11e7-b7d3-163f5a7f229c
The Royal Court theatre in London prides itself on putting playwrights first. Next week, however, the body gets a look in. Simon Stephens’ play Nuclear War is being directed by a choreographer, Imogen Knight. What’s more, the writer is encouraging her to jettison his words as she chooses.
Movement directors are on the move. Usually they are brought on board as part of a creative team, in thrall to a director’s vision and responsible for a single element in a production: its physical language. That can involve anything from full-blown dance breaks to shaping character through physicality. A good movement director can be the making of a show. They instil precision and pulse. They animate theatre. Increasingly, however, movement specialists are leading rather than following. Knight is not alone in directing in her own right.