Two towering figures in the theatre world died within days of each other late last month: Jacques Lecoq and Jerzy Grotowski. An inspiring teacher of actors and dancers, Lecoq introduced body movement and mime into the training of actors.

In 1956 he founded his own school in Paris, which has attracted students from all over the world, including Mikel Murfi of Barabbas and members of Shibboleth and Macnas. His emphasis on holistic movement and physicality has influenced many distinguished companies such as Theatre du Soleil and Theatre de Complicite.

Grotowski, from eastern Poland, was another great innovator, who pushed his actors to the limits and influenced directors such as Peter Brook and Eugenio Barba. The intensity of performances in his Theatre Laboratory in Wroclaw became legendary, as well as the way he eradicated the distance between actor and spectator. In 1968 his book, Towards a Poor Theatre became required reading for radical thespians.