The Human Touch: Redefining the Art of British Contemporary Improvisational Theatre

The Human Touch is a book focused on the creative processes at work in British contemporary improvisational theatre and how these processes draw on the humanity of the participants: their cognitive abilities, their lives, and their relationships to each other.

Vulnerability is a main feature of both the book and of improvisational theatre, both part of the hurdles that improvisers face and a creative tool. Through a study of improvisation and vulnerability, the book teaches us both what makes improvisational theatre so human and opens the door to a reflection about how to use humanity and human emotions in performance. Most importantly, it delves into the cognitive and physiological processes at work in improvisation, a topic which is missing from most manuals and studies offered to students.

This book is addressed to theatre students and provides both an important overview of the form’s history and a challenge to what is usually taught about improvisation.