Introduction: Influences

Laurence Olivier:

Laurence Olivier was born in 1907 and died in 1989, Olivier was possibly the greatest theatre actor in Britain. He acted in and directed Shakespeare plays and were considered as "definitive." In cinema he achieved a Matinee Idol success in films such as "Rebecca." When Olivier died, his wife was so distraight that she pulled out of a season in National Theatre, so Berkoff was brought in to fill in for his wife. Berkoff had a huge admiration of Olivier and is significantly apparent in his one-man show, "Shakespeare's Villains."

Edmund Kean:

Edmund Kean was born in 1787 and 1833. He was one of teh actors that Berkoff admired. Kena had an under- privileged background and fought to establish himself in theatre, like Berkoff. Kean was famous for his take on Shakespeare and his combining of passion adn melodrama. Berkoff's admiration was so much that he considered reviving a play about Kean that Alexandre Dumas wrote about him and Jean- Paule Sarte. In 2006, Berkoff played one of Kean's most successful roles in Leopold Lewis' play, "The Bells" in memory of Kean.

Bertolt Brecht:

Bertolt Brecht was born in 1898 and died in 1956 and was a German Playwright, but left Germany when Hitler came to power. His plays were innovative and shows anti-fascist stance whcih Berkoff uses in his own play, "East," where the actors destroy naturalsim by addressing the audnece, which was a completely new to audiences when Brecht introduced them.

Atonin Artaud:

Antonin Artaud was born in 1896 and died in 1948. His theorretical writing, the manifestos for a Theatre of Cruelty, which influences modern theatre. Artaud wanted to move away from structured melodrama towards a theatre thatt was reinvigorated by danger and cruelt by using the power of words and gestures to release emotions. Not only did he influence modern theatre, he also inspired Berkoff in many of his plays. Artaud belived in the theatre of cruelty and intimidating the audience and making them feel irrelevant. He believed in using unconventional settings, abstract movements and characterisation.   

Jean- Louis Barrault:

Jean- Louis Barrault was born in 1910 and died in 1994. He formed his own theatre company and developed the use of mime in theatre, which influenced Berkoff when he founded the London Theatre Group.

Franz Kafka:

Franz Kafka was born in 1883 and died of tuberculosis in 1924. Kafka studied literature, before he tokk up law at university. Only a small amount of his writings were published during his lifetime, but on his deathbed he told a friend to destroy all of his unpublished work, howver he did not. Kafka's work remained relatively unknown until after World War , where he gained an international reputation as one of the greatest writer of the 20th century. Metamorphosis was probably his best- known stories which was first published in 1915 in German and was first translated into English in 1936 and has been translated several times since then. The story portrays a world that is hostile and perhaps absurd and that major themes in the story like father-son antagonism, alienation at work, isolation and self- sacrifice.