Kneehigh

Kneehigh, a company founded in 1980 by Mike Shepard, created theatre that would be "joyful, anarchic and innovative" and would combine many elements from all areas of theatre-making to create their pieces. This would include using techniques such as physical theatre, however with this they would combine comedy and folk tales (particularly from Cornwall where they were based) to create a unique style. Unfortunately, in 2021 they disbanded as a company and all their work are now archived in the Kneehigh  Archive in Falmouth University.

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS:

FOLK STORIES & MUSIC

Being based in Cornwall, many of Kneehigh's members came from rural backgrounds and would be very familiar with folk tales. These stories (like most of their work) would be grotesque, a little bit dark but also comedic. For their devising, they would then takes these stories and use them as a basis to create a wider story that would be more contemporary to the time. 

As well as folk tales, they would also use folk music that would be performed live throughout the performance to set the mood or build tension. The folk would often be inspired by European, Jewish or Gypsy and would be composed specifically for the piece. The musicians in the piece would also be actors and a part of the performance, being able to sing and play instruments.