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th
20
Some
Century
Theatre Innovations
Many innovators of modern drama were
too confronting and different to be
accepted and understood in their own life
time
This was certainly the case with people
such as Brecht, Artaud and others
Their ideas have now been accepted and
allowed to influence many directors,
designers and actors
Theatre Styles
Theatre of Cruelty
Poor Theatre
Theatre of the Absurd
Theatre of Cruelty
Antonin Artaud
French
1895 – 1948
He was writing at the same time as Brecht
was writing his Epic, political plays
Artaud used the term “Theatre of Cruelty”
to define the style of work he believed was
needed to revitalise the theatre
His theories were based around utilising a
physical theatre language
He believed text provided nothing more
than a starting point
Sound, space, movement, light, spectacle
and non verbally based acting would
combine, in Artaud’s view, to excite, shock
and enthral audiences, forcing them to
confront the inner, primal self
Artaud proclaimed that theatre should
return to its primitive roots and aim to
provide an experience of communal ritual
Artaud was interested in exploring the
human mind
Artaud was a surrealist in the 1920’s
He believed many dark secrets were
hidden deep inside our minds
(subconscious) that we are not aware of,
that caused us to do the things we did
Artaud was deeply influenced by the
Surrealist movement even when he left the
movement
Surrealism – Salvador Dali
Another member of the Surrelist
movement was Salvador Dali
He was famous for his dream paintings
filled with objects
Salvador Dali’s paintings
Artaud belived that theatre should force
people to confront and heal their inner
selves or they will become negative and
destructive
He disapproved of the typical plays that
dealt with social problems or individuals
Unlike Brecht who wanted to brainwash
his audience with strong messages,
Artaud thought that was a waste of time
Theatre needed to be more primitive and
instinctive if it was to really touch people
and change them
He used the term “Theatre of Cruelty”
because he was forcing the audience to
face itself. He was being ‘cruel to be kind’
Rituals and symbols were seen as
powerful
The aim of Theatre of Cruelty was to crahs
through the shell of bourgeois civilisation
and its cultural restrictions and to get to a
deeper, more spiritual plane
His quest was as much socially motivated
as artistically
Theatre Spaces
Artaud felt that plays should be taken out
of the traditional theatre building which he
rejected as being too formal
He preferred large spaces such as
warehouses
The audience intermingled with the actors
No scenery except for symbols
Lighting was to be fast and exciting
Sound was also important
Artaud believed that the audience could be
‘assaulted’ with a fast paced
light/sound/human show
He believed the audiences’ inner selves
would be released and be confronted and
healed
Although Artaud’s aims might seem far
fetched, his ideas can be adapted into
contemporary preformances
These days many people use drama in
Artaud’s way to heal from psychological
pain and this is called psychodrama
Artaud suffered mental and emotional
breakdowns
This perhaps explains why he was
interested in this area of drama
After he died his published works inspired
many dramatists
In 1963 the Theatre of Cruelty was formed
and Artaud’s ideas were materialised and
toured
The Theatre and Its Double
Artaud’s book, “The Theatre and Its Double” was
originally released in 1933
It was not really influential until after his death
Practioners such as Julian Beck and Judith
Malina, founders of America’s Living Theatre,
Joseph Chaikin and his Open Theatre, English
director Peter Brook and Jerzy Grotowski,
founder of the Polish Laboratory theatre, were
all influenced by “The Theatre and Its Double”
Although this was not a theatre style
based on text it still inspired several works
in the written form
The most important of these written plays
was the Peter Weiss’ play “Marat/Sade”
Poor Theatre
Jerzy Grotowski
Born in Poland 1933
His ideas about acting and theatre have
conrtibuted greatly in that they reclaimed
the essential importance and role of the
actor
Grotowski reminded people that one did
not need expensive sets, lighting and
costumes
His theatre was actor based
Hence his theatre was called “Poor
Theatre”
When all stage elements are removed,
only the essentials are left – actors and
audience
The relationship between actor and
audience is a powerful one which
Grotowski studied closely as part of his
‘laboratory’
Great demands are made on actors in
Poor Theatre
They are the centre of attention, the key
Effective actors must work on themselves
until they can give of themselves fully
Grotowski worked intensely with his actors
as he recognised that all individuals are
unique
“Towards a Poor Theatre”
Grotowski’s book “Towards a Poor Theatre”
included many of the exercises that he used to
free up his actors
Some of his techniques included silence/inner
meditation, physical endurance and training in
emotional memory*
*Emotional memory is reliving an event to recreate
the emotion.
Theatre Spaces
Plays were staged in diverse settings
Ordinary rooms to warehouses
Like Artaud he saw no need to separate
the audience and the actors
He wanted to create a dynamic audience
relationship
Grotowski believed the power of the actor
should be so strong that he/she could
transform anything around him through the
power of his/her belief
In other words the floor could become the
sea or a boat, etc
Grotowski’s influence came at the best possible
time for it seemed to re-invent drama and the
theatre t a time when dramatists had to compete
with films, videos and television. The only plays
at the time seemed to be lavish, expensive
musicals
Gortowski showed us that even a vulnerable
lone actor with no props can have as much
impact as any blockbuster film
Theatre of the Absurd
Absurdism was a movement based on the
ideas of Existentialism
Existentialism was first developed by
Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus
They were both French
According to existentialists, life is
meaningless – just a series of acts nothing
Jean-Paul Sartre
Albert Camus
Absurdist theatre rose to prominence in
the 1950’s
Its precursors can probably be found in the
works of earlier playwrights like Kafka,
Jarry and Pirandello
Kafka
Jarry
Pirandello
Famous Absurdist Playwrights
Eugene Ionesco
Samuel Beckett
Jean Genet
Eugene Ionesco 1912 - 1994
Ionesco’s Plays
Rhinoceros
The Bald Soprano
The Chairs
Samuel Beckett 1906 - 1989
His plays
Waiting For Godot
Endgame
Krapp’s Last Tape
Jean Genet 1910 - 1986
His Plays
The Maids
The Balcony
The Blacks
Absurdist Plays
Absurdist plays highlight the meaningless
or absurdity of life and often feature an
underlying despair
The fundamental belief expressed in
absurdist works is that humankind is lost in
a godless universe, where their actions
and behaviour become absurd and
useless
The illogical and the irrational are at the
heart of most absurdist drama
Characters tend to be archetypal
Language is irrelevant in the sense that it
fails to convey meaning
Time and place have no real relevance
either
Despite this grim outlook, Absurdist
Theatre is essentially comic in nature
Humankind is deluded in its belief that it is
at the centre of the universe
This is seen as a ridiculous proposal which
warrants nothing more than laughter and
derision
Features of Absurdist Plays
Features may include:
Non-reality
No sense of time/place
Unusual characters
Absurd happenings
Chaos
Simple/minimal sets
Meaningless dialogue/word games
Repetition highlighting futility
Humour
Some people find Absurdist plays hard to
understand and cope with, however the
movement produced some very
impressive plays which are still staged
regularly today