As a theatre company, Frantic Assembly is notable in that neither of its artistic directors has a formal background in drama, theatre or dance. In creating work, the company relies on influences that lie, for the most part, outside the realm of theatre and its regular forms and practice.

Early Frantic Assembly productions in collaboration with Andy Cleeton explored the use of a DJ set in creating dramatic structure for devised work. Linked to this is a strong affinity with the music video. Often overlooked as an art form, despite being unparalleled in terms of its progressive and ground-breaking history, the pop video has provided the company with much of its approach to rhythm, visual framing devices, editing techniques and most importantly the use of music. Each Frantic Assembly show has featured a specific soundtrack. Early work consisted of various found tracks, but later pieces such as ‘Peepshow’ and ‘Dirty Wonderland’ saw the company collaborating with bands such as lamb and Goldfrapp to create pure soundtracks.

Using music as a creative tool is a primary and ever-evolving company practice. Other points of reference include film, tv advertising, contemporary art and literature.

In stating the above, it must also be noted that a huge influence for Frantic Assembly and many other companies around the same period was the work of DV8 Physical Theatre, in particular the film versions of ‘Dead Dreams Of Monochrome Men’ and ‘Strange Fish’, both directed by David Hinton. As dance films, both are still unsurpassed in terms of demonstrating the capacity for movement to mean something. The performance style in both pieces, its demands on the performers and an unflinching approach to emotional narrative was instrumental in Frantic Assembly forming its own working and creative ethos.