Influences

Laurence Olivier (1907 -1989) Was possibly the greatest theatre actor in Britain. His acting and direction of Shakespeare such as Richard III and Henry IV are considered definitive. In the cinema he achieved matinee idol success in films such as Rebecca. When Olivier died, his wife, actress Vivien Leigh was in season in the national theatre and pulled out. Berkoff was brought in to fill in the empty slots. Berkoff's admiration of Olivier is apparent from his one-man show Shakespeare Villains.


Edmund Kean (1787 - 1833) Was an actor Berkoff admired and someone he probably saw as a role model. Like Berkoff, Kean had an under-privileged background and fought to establish himself in theatre. Kean was popular presenter of the Shakespeare and combines passion with melodrama.


Bertold Brecht (1898-1956) The German playwright Brecht left Germany when Hitler came to power. His plays show his anti fascist stance and were also innovative in particular his verfrendungseffekt (alienation effect) which Berkoff uses in "East" where actors destroy Naturalism by, for example addressing to the audience

Antonin Artaud (1896 - 1948) Artaud's theoretical writing is the manifestos for a theatre of cruelty which accounts for his immense influence on modern theatre. Artaud wanted to move from staid structured melodrama towards a theatre reinvigorated by danger and cruelty, using power of words and gestures to release emotions. Berkoff followed Artaud and wrote his own Three Theatre Manifestos, and in the documentary "changing Stages" Berkoff talks of the influence of Artaud who wished to get rid of all playwrights with their domestic and psychological obsessions, since he felt they got in the way of true theatrical obsession. "The actor exists without the play...He can improvise, be silent, mime, make sounds and be a witness." Artaud suggests that the actor should look for texts, not written expressively for the recruiting of actors to bring them to life, but works that already exist in the public consciousness... ancient works and myths.
Artaud believe in the theatre of cruelty, and intimidating the audience and making them feel small and irrelevant. He believed in using unconventional settings, and very abstract movements and characterisation.

 

Jean-Louis Barrault (1910-1994) Barrault formed his own theatre company and developed his use of mime on theatre which influenced Berkoff when he founded the London Theatre Group

Berkoff studied with Claude Chagrin, a pupil of Jacques le Coq, and later briefly with Le Coq himself. Le Coq's mime, movement, masks and ensemble of acting are characteristic of Berkoff

Berkoff talking about Edmund Kean