A four-day embodied exploration of Federico García Lorca’s language, focusing on desire, resistance, and physical presence through intensive scene and movement work.
Federico García Lorca’s burning writing bears witness to a fervent need for love and collective liberation — as if the words themselves were trying to escape the page. As he wrote in 1935:
“Theatre is poetry that goes beyond the book to become human.”
Avant-gardist, insubordinate, eternally in search of meaning and justice, Lorca is the poet of all peoples — always on the side of the defeated, the banished, the marginalized. His language stands at the crossroads of cultures and social layers. It calls for togetherness, for intimacy, for shelter.
To approach his writing without passing through the body seems impossible.
For four full days, we will explore the physicality of his language — tracing the sensations it awakens, identifying zones of vibration as well as areas of resistance. Where does the impulse surge? Where does it hold back? What in us dares, and what in us censors?
Lorca’s major plays revolve around unconsummated, forbidden, or frustrated desire. How do we embody the tension of a chimerical love — torn between desperate outpouring and contained restraint? How do we perform the impossible?
In this exploration, resistance is not an obstacle but raw material. We will investigate how to ally with inner resistance and transform it into fuel. The body will be invited to exult in its vibrant presence, restoring vulnerability and failure to their rightful — even gilded — place within a humanity obsessed with success.
Might unconsummated love not hold the power to remain forever untouchable, forever sacred?
“The day we stop resisting our instincts, we will have learned how to live,” Lorca says. His poetry offers a fierce and generous ground for the work we cultivate at the Physical Lab: presence, availability, clarity of impulse, and embodied imagination.
Together, we will dive into the unknown and follow our inner fire.
The Performance Studio at Chisenhale Dance Space is a large, bright studio available for hire within an artist-led dance and performance venue in East London. It measures about 10 m × 12.5 m with a 3.3 m high ceiling and features a sprung dance floor. The space is suited to movement activities, classes, workshops, rehearsals and small performances, with flexible capacity depending on the type of activity. Shared lounge and kitchen areas are also available, though the studio itself has some restrictions on footwear and equipment. Rental rates vary by user category and booking type.
Images and studio description are © Chisenhale Dance Space.
Participants are invited to bring a scene from:
You may work in any language that feels closest to you.
The text should be memorised. We will work through solo, partner, and ensemble explorations, combining physical training with scene investigation.
A Zoom meeting will take place prior to the lab to connect, discuss choices, and organise scene partnerships.
Many Lab participants have secured partial or full funding through arts grants, and we are happy to provide any documentation needed to support your application. Standard materials commonly required for grant submissions can be found on our Lab Pricing & Funding page. Please contact us should you need anything further.
We encourage you to apply even if funding has not yet been confirmed.
Additionally, we offer subsidised pricing for our Labbers. To determine whether or not you qualify, please refer to the Lab Pricing page. If you are unsure whether or not you meet the requirements, please reach out to: info@physicallab.co.uk
Tatiana is an international artist, actress, director, and writer with performances that span France, Spain, Switzerland, & more. As an associate artist of Physical Lab, she has collaborated with Yorgos for a decade, conducting Labs together and independently.
We have a cancellation policy of three weeks prior to the start of the Lab for short workshops. After this, we cannot offer refunds unless another participant can be found to take the place.
“Magical—a moment of sharing, exchange, and self-discovery within an extraordinary group. Tatiana guided us through those four days of exploration with her energy, kindness, and gentleness. Simply brilliant!”
“Tatiana’s attention and philosophy create trust in each person so they can let go and free themselves in the work. This atmosphere is very precious and enjoyable to work in; everything becomes a pleasure!”
“An extraordinary experience. Three days of happiness, tears, magic in the heart. Three days where I said to myself, ‘You have the right to breathe, you have the right to exist. You have the right to let yourself be. To be seen as you are. To express yourself.”
