STAGE COMBAT | poise, power, precision...

A little about the technique…
Stage combat is a specialized technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions. The term is also used informally to describe fight choreography for other production media including film and television. It is a common field of study for actors and dancers and is closely related to the practice of stunts.

Stage Combat is highly complex as a whole but it can be condensed and tailored to offer all students a skillful yet enjoyable technique, which is useful for a wide range of theatre. With a background in film, television and stage, our trained combatants can facilitate two different disciplines with your students; Stage Combat Un-Armed and Stage Combat Armed. These two workshops are suitable for a wide range of ages and group sizes. 

Whether you need to choreograph a fight scene for the next Shakespeare play, create a slapstick sequence to increase the humor of a scene, expand your students physical skills or to simply fill an activities day; these workshops will meet you and your students needs – all carried out in a safe and controlled environment.

We have two types of Stage Combat workshops. Click the button to read more:
“This was the most keenly anticipated workshop of the year and it didn't disappoint!" Sara Sweeney, Sir William Perkins School, Surrey.

How can students use armed or unarmed stage combat in their work?

  • Swashbuckling in a play like Peter Pan
  • Sword fighting in a Shakespeare play; such as Mercutio vs. Tybalt in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ 
  • A general fight scene with or without the use of knives and daggers

Creating a livelier and more engaging experience for the audience.
The benefits of stage combat…
  • It offers useful skills to incorporate with curricular and non-curricular work such as Shakespeare, Commedia Dell’Arte, devised exam work and standard drama classes

  • It gives many attributes to a scene or play that requires any form of stage fighting or slap stick

  • It increases physical ability and confidence

  • It allows the students to learn a complex technique in a safe environment while learning the significance and benefits of the skills

  • It is an exciting and enlivening technique offering an exhilarating experience

  • It give students a new respect for the safety required for all stage combat techniques
Aims of the workshop...

  • To understand the basic safety principals behind all stage combat techniques

  • To learn a number of stage combat techniques

  • To work safely with a partner or partners and perform stage combat

  • To understand that stage combat is an acting technique

  • To have fun and gain confidence in a supported environment

  • To give students the basic knowledge and skills of the technique to use in future work