Artaud

"of everything that occupies the stage, everything that can be manifested and expressed materially on a stage and that it is addressed first of all the senses instead of being addressed primarily to the mind as the language of words."  ~ Antonin Artaud (1896-1948)

types of theatre occurring at the time:

- Stanislavski 

- Bertolt Brecht

- Existentialism (Absurdist Theatre)

war was occurring during the time period. (both world wars) 

he came up with the theatre of cruelty 

Features of Artaud Theatre:

Theatre of Cruelty

"Cruelty" for Artaud does not mean physical violence. Instead, it refers to:

A relentless, intense confrontation with truth

Forcing audiences to face uncomfortable realities about existence, suffering, and the subconscious

Theatre should shock people out of passivity and break through their rational defences.

Rejection of Traditional Theatre

Artaud strongly criticised Western theatre because it:

- Focused too much on written scripts and dialogue

- Appealed mainly to intellect, not emotion or instinct

- Became safe, polite, and predictable

He believed theatre should be experienced physically and emotionally, not just understood intellectually.

Use of Language and Sound

In Artaud's theatre:

- Spoken language is secondary or sometimes abandoned altogether

- Meaning is conveyed through:

Screams, chants, noise

Rhythm and repetition

Music and sound effects

Words are treated as sounds, not carriers of logical argument.

Physicality and the Body

The actor's body is central:

• Extreme gestures and movements

• Stylised, almost ritualistic actions

• Actors use their bodies to communicate raw emotion

The body becomes a symbolic and expressive tool, not a realistic representation of everyday behaviour.

 Staging and Audience Relationship

Artaud wanted to destroy the barrier between stage and audience:

• Performances might surround the audience

• Lights, sound, and movement invade the audience's space

• The audience becomes immersed, even unsettled

The goal is to make spectators participants, not passive observers.

Ritual and the Subconscious

Artaud was inspired by:

• Balinese theatre

• Ancient rituals and myth

He believed theatre should function like a ritual or exorcism, releasing repressed fears, desires, and emotions from the subconscious.

Artaud believed theatre should:

• Shake society

• Reveal hidden psychological and social truths

• Act as a form of spiritual and emotional cleansing

In his view, theatre was as essential as plague—destructive, but necessary to expose corruption and force change.

he believed theatre has become way to hung up on realism and that it needs to return to its roots, magic, rituals and myth. He was a depressed teenager, spent a lot of the time in an altered state, had a serious addiction to opium. was discharged from the military for sleepwalking. he hooked up with the surrealists, but then they rejected Artaud because he failed to renounce the commercialism of theatre. from 1926-1928 he co-ran the theatre Alfred Jarry producing work by August Strindberg. suffered a major psychotic break. he was diagnosed with incurable paranoid delirium and underwent electric shock treatment. died of Bum cancer in 1948.

he wants theatre that would "leave and ineffaceable scar"

 Artaud Theories:

1) The Plague Analogy
He gas a pessimistic view of man and society. one of his main premise is that humanity does not change, we are the same under the skin. and we do extraordinary things in extreme periods such as murd3r, r4p3 and p1llage. Artaud shows us how close is the savage under the skin. Actors must be ‘cruel’ to themselves and push themselves to their limit. this is why Artuad’s choice of subject matter always deals with human beings in extreme situations.

2) Theatre as a way of exposing, containing and draining societies ills 
 He sees theatre as a powerful tool for exploring and releasing society’s ills. our dreams suggest secret desires to commit outrages - the man who dreams of r4p3, the women who dreams of being r4p3d, as an example.

3) waking a kind of super-catharsis  
is is hoped the audience will find their higher selves, will be in some way transfigured, as the actor is himself. The build up of that extreme state of emotional energy wakes up what Artaud calls ‘the double’, which is the essential man, the higher self. Artaud intends the audience as far as possible to expience the same as the actors  
 
4) Individual languages are inadequate to express man’s real concerns
Artuad wants a type of theatre that crosses the barriers of language and the veneers of civilisation to awaken the common primitive roots of shared humanity. In place of words a language of sounds or words as a vehicle fot emotion rather than logical sense are used.