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Rehearsing Theatre
Antonin Artaud
1896-1948
• “ I am well aware that a
language of gestures and
postures, dance and music
is less able to define
character.
But
whoever
said theatre was meant to
define character?”
•“In Europe
nobody knows
how to scream
anymore.”
•“Actors should be
like torture
victims who are
being burned and
making signs from
the stake.”
Realism v Surrealism
• Artaud’s work provides a vision that stems
from his violent hatred of realism
• He represents the other end of the
performance scale from Stanislavski
• He wanted to ‘transcend’ realism in his
productions and produce a theatre that
‘challenged’ his audience, forcing them to
see new ideas and values
Life and Background
• Artaud was born in Marseilles into a strict
religious family which he found suffocating
• He had a troubled childhood, suffering from
meningitis and depression the symptoms of
which led to him being isolated at school
• He was extremely strong willed and reluctant to
conform to the conventions of society: as a
consequence of this his parents arranged for him
to be incarcerated in a sanatorium in 1915
Life and Background
• During this time he was prescribed opium
and this was the start of a long-standing
addiction to drugs.
• Once released, Artaud embarked on a
fascinating series of experiences that
helped him to formulate his extreme views
on both society and theatre.
Life and Background
• He was a prolific poet
• 1924 he became an active and influential
member of the surrealist movement
• He and the surrealists shared a political
viewpoint based around anarchy and freethinking, and a vision of the theatre as a
place not for bourgeois entertainment but
for emotional discovery
Life and Background
• However, the relationship between Artaud
and the group was often strained and two
years later he was expelled.
• He acted in many films and was celebrated
for his non-realist style.
Balinese Influence
• 1931, Artaud witnessed a performance by
Balinese dancers in Paris that acted as a
catalyst for the development of his theatre.
• Balinese dance-drama is religious in nature
and involves the acting out of Hindu
legends in a stylised way, with the use of
deeply unrealistic makeup, symbolic masks
and hand gestures.
Balinese Influence
• Artaud was struck by the magical quality of
the work. The dancers’ dependence on
gestures, facial expressions and visuals
created a physical language that appealed
to the unconscious.
• The focus was not on verbal
communication
Continued…
• Artaud argued that it was to offer
something that could not be offered by a
novel or poem, or any other medium.
Other Influences
• Two other influences affected the development
of his ideas:
a)The painting ‘The Daughters of Lot’ by Leyden.
The violent images in the painting had a theatrical
quality to them and he considered the impact
that such still image could have on stage
• b)Film, in particular the work of the Marx
brothers. Artaud was fascinated by the manner in
which they juxtaposed images to create humour.
Theatre of Cruelty
• Artaud organised his ideas into a manifesto
called the ‘Theatre of Cruelty’
• His aim was to reinvent the theatrical
experience, abolishing the traditions of
realism and allowing design and
performance skills to work together to
maximise the sensory experience of the
audience.
Theatre of Cruelty
• Before we can experiment with practical
ideas it is important to understand the
essence of Artaud’s theatre. It was
revolutionary which partly explains why he
was unable to achieve a production that
did justice to all of his aims.
The auditorium
• To break from the restrictions of
psychological theatre started with the
nature of the performance space.
• The stage should be a single, undivided
locale, probably a barn or a hanger, which
would allow direct communication
between the actors and the audience. All
decoration needed to be removed from the
space so that every area could be used.
The audience
• Would be in the middle on swivel chairs,
while a walkway would be built around the
edges of the auditorium to enable certain
action to take place above the spectators.
The show as Artaud called his
performance,would fill the space using
different areas and levels to engulf the
audience and assault their senses.
Sound
• Artaud believed traditional theatre was a
slave to dialogue, so he tried to redefine
the aural experience. He focused on sounds
rather than words. Screams were
extremely important to him since they
represented the most primitive emotion.
• Musical Instruments were used in
experimental ways
Costume and design
• All costume should be devoid of any
contemporary relevance and should be
specifically designed for each show.
However, he felt it might be appropriate to
look at images from the past and designs
that might take their influences from
certain cultural rituals. Masks and even
puppets were encourage as a way of
moving away from realism.
Technical Aspects
• Technical equipment was limited for
Artaud but he saw that the need for more
technical equipment was necessary.
• He thought about subtlety of use of colour
to communicate complex images.
The Plague
• Artaud used the metaphor of the plague to
relate to his ideas about theatre.
‘Theatre action is as beneficial as the plague,
impelling us to see ourselves as we are,
making the masks fall..’ (Theatre and Its
Double)
Ritual
• He was fascinated by their mystical quality
and their ability to generate a heightened
level of engagement from those who
participated.
The double
• Fascination by the concepts of dream and
reality.