THE FIRST PHYSICAL THEATRE COMPANY (TFPTC)

Based on and inspired by the work and techniques of DV8 (UK), Cirque du Soleil (France and beyond) and the Laban center (UK), TFPTC strove to combine dance, mime, stunts, gymnastics, acrobatics, music and text to break all dance and performance barriers. It was collaborative in the true sense, combining elements of all the above plus the talents and concepts of the performers themselves and various choreographers (Claire Baker (UK) Gary Gordon, PJ Sabbagha) .

By 1995 this student company had hit such a high standard of performance and drawn so much attention to itself that it only made sense to turn pro. As of Feb the following year, TFPTC performed to full houses all over the country at theatres and major Arts festivals in SA. The tour of "The Unspeakable Story" saw us invited to the Jo'burg Dance Umbrella. in 1999, we were invited to perform in Nantes, France, at the 'Fin de Siecle' (End of Millenium) festival along with Robin Orlin and her company, as representatives of South Africa.

When Richard Branson brought Virgin Airlines to SA, The First Physical Theatre Co was asked to do the honours at the launch.