Celebrating the Jaques Lecoq School 70th anniversary

In September, we ran a week-long masterclass to celebrate the Jacques Lecoq School’s (École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq) 70th anniversary. 

‘The Masks of the Jacques Lecoq School – Toward the structures of play’ brought together a group of theatre professionals, led by Jos Houben; long-time Complicité collaborator and former student, now teacher at Lecoq and François Lecomte, fellow teacher at Lecoq. With a special day of collaborative exchanges featuring Complicité’s Artistic Director Simon McBurney and additional members of the Jacques Lecoq School team.

In the school’s 70th year, we reflect on the impact it’s had on Complicité which continues to this day. With many of our founding members and associate artists having trained at the school, Lecoq’s ideas of disponsibilité, le jeu and complicité (openness, play and shared creativity) became vital elements in our language of making. 

We asked our friends and collaborators at École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq to share their thoughts as they enter their 70th year. They said: 

“The École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq celebrates seventy years of a constantly evolving pedagogy, of encounters and creativity, shaping generations of artists from all over the world.

Jacques Lecoq’s spirit has never been about preservation for its own sake. Keeping the school alive today means preserving what makes it unique while creating the conditions for its continual renewal. It means believing in the power of cultural exchange and collective work, and continuing to nurture artists who are curious about the world around them, giving them the impetus to create their own theatre.

A huge thank you to Complicité for celebrating this anniversary with us, in the spirit of our shared heritage.”