He believed that theatre should be a clear representation of reality itself, and believed the actors should interact with the audience themselves, in order to give the audience the best experience possible when watching theatre. He made this evident through the use of strange and somewhat disturbing forms of lighting, sound, and other performing elements. Artaud’s theatrical techniques have had a major influence on playwrights in the modern day, but in his time Artaud was influenced by other theatre practitioners as well as artists such as Seneca, Shakespeare, Poe, Lautreamont, Alfred Jarry, and Andre Masson.
modern day practitioners such as Peter Brooks have taken great inspiration from Artaud’s ‘Theatre of Cruelty’, as well as being the source of inspiration for the popular ‘Living Theatre’ of New York City, another experimental theatre company. The legacy of Artaud is said to be one of the most influential figures in the evolution of drama. Although in his time Artaud only showcased one of his many plays, The ‘Theatre Of Cruelty’, a play in which consisted of little dialogue, but more incorporating Artaud’s belief for the importance of space and set.
Through the Theatre of Cruelty, Artaud expressed his belief of what he thinks all theatre should contain. The Theatre of Cruelty has been created in order to restore to the theatre a passionate and convulsive conception of life, and it is in this sense of violent rigour and extreme condensation of scenic elements that the cruelty on which it is based must be understood. This cruelty, which will be bloody when necessary but not systematically so, can thus be identified with a kind of severe moral purity which is not afraid to pay life the price it must be paid. – Antonin Artaud.
The Essay on Antonin Artaud: Theatre of Cruelty
... Theatre of Cruelty theory after learning of the Balinese theatre that seemed, to him, to share qualities with his ideas about theatre. Artaud ... had not been so drastic, theatres very well may have adapted and become Theatres of Cruelty. Artaud was very particular in ... understand Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty completely, one must first understand the meaning Artaud puts into the word cruelty. He used ...
Artaud’s legacy has given other playwrights of the Western theatre genre of Avant-garde a perspective into what audiences expect from such performances, and has provided a foundation towards the politically progressive world of experimental theatre. Through his work he depicted the existing political, social and economic systematic problems at the time. Artaud used specific techniques throughout his career, Such as interaction with the audience. Throughout the play ‘Sleep No More’, the actors are scattered around an abandoned hotel in separate rooms enacting Artaud’s depiction or Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Each and every audience member is taken in separately and are given the opportunity to explore the hotel at their own will, this includes entering rooms, opening closets and getting as close as touching the actors who are performing. Within each room lies a new scene in which connects to previous ones, creating the story of Macbeth in a much more abstract way than the standard theatre style playwright. Artaud’s use of space and the way in which he incorporates the audience into each of his plays is becoming more popular in modern day playwrights.
As well as this, Artaud’s disregard for the script is not something in which many playwrights believe in. Artaud believed that if an actor was too confined to a script, the actor would fail to portray the character as well as he wishes, giving the actors much leniency was a big aspect of Artaud’s performance techniques, but also believed the actor must become the character, much like the belief of Stanislavski’s. Artaud’s performance techniques have very much had a positive impact in the style of Avante-garde, as well as other performing genres.
Artaud has very much revolutionised the world of theatre through his innovative techniques and use of space and the incorporation of audience into his plays. The legacy of Artaud is very much still an influential aspect of theatre. Through the techniques in which Artaud conveyed throughout his career as a playwright, he has become one of the most influential roles in the world of theatre as a practitioner. His ideas are still clearly evident in today’s theatre as I myself have experienced such techniques in plays such as The Warhorse.
The Essay on The Group Theater Theatre Actors Clurman
The Group Theatre began as a small company that provided actors and actresses with a means and a location to practice plays. Three people, Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, and Cheryl Crawford formed The Group Theatre. The Group Theatre escalated in 1931 and ended abruptly in 1941 prevailing through the years there were hits, periods of flops, financial straits, depressing inactivity, and spiraling ...
