You're getting Lecoq talking about his philospophy of stage movement. It's not a textbook or exercise book but a grounding in the elements of the Lecoq method. A must read if you're interested in his school of thought. ( )

Jacques Lecoq was one of the most inspirational theatre teachers of our age. The International Theatre School he founded in Paris remains an unrivalled centre for the art of physical theatre. In The Moving Body, Lecoq shares his unique philosophy of performance, improvisation, masks, movement and gesture which together form one of the greatest influences on contemporary theatre. Neutral mask, character mask, and counter masks, bouffons, acrobatics and commedia, clowns and complicity: all the famous Lecoq techniques are covered here - techniques that have made their way into the work of former collaborators and students inluding Dario Fo, Julie Taymor, Ariane Mnouchkine, Yasmina Reza and Theatre de Complicite.

Lecoq's book details his school's training, moving through mask work, bouffon, movement training, clowning and chorus work. It is a good idea of what his school teaches, though not a good substitution for actual training - rather, I'd recommend it more as a post-teaching tool, to remember what the hell you just learned ten years after graduating. ( )

In The Moving Body, translated into English for the first time, Lecoq shares his unique philosophy of performance, improvisation, masks, movement, and gesture. Neutral mask, character masks and counter-masks, bouffons, acrobatics, commedia, clowns: all the famous Lecoq techniques are include here. The Moving Body is the written legacy of a great theatrical imagination.
About the Author
Jacques Lecoq was born in Paris in 1921. He taught until the day before his death in 1999. David Bradby is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at Royal Holloway University of London. He is a director, translator, and the author of, among other books, Mise en scene: French Theatre Now.