THEATRE OF CRUELTY ANTONIN ARTAUD 1896 - 1948

ARTAUDS CHILDHOOD A difficult life. 6 of his 8 brothers and sisters died of childhood illnesses. He suffered from meningitus aged 4. Left with terrible head pains and a stammer Severely depressed through teens.

Mental health. Artaud spent some time in institutions struggling with inner demons. His life was full of pain, and he had odd beliefs. He obtained a walking stick in his late 20s which he believed had once belonged to the devil, St Patrick and Jesus. He ended up in a straight jacket.

Philosophy Artaud believed that theatre should effect the audience profoundly and so used strange and disturbing forms of lighting, sound and performance. In one performance he used such graphic images of the plague, the audience were sick in their seats!

Stylisation Acting might be exaggerated or repeated or slow motion etc. Voices could be extreme or bizarre. Walking and moving could be in a set pattern Pauses would grow into silences Lighting changes to extremes. Sound effects and graphic images.

The Theatre of Cruelty aimed to hurl the spectator into the centre of the action, forcing them to engage with the performance on an instinctive level. For Artaud, this was a cruel, yet necessary act upon the spectator designed to shock them out of their complacency. Imagination to Artaud, is reality; dreams, thoughts and delusions are no less real than the "outside" world.

Artaud saw suffering as; essential to existence

Willing suspension of disbelief The audience accepts when they enter a theatre to see a play that for a time they will pretend that what they are seeing is real. This should be more than a piece of entertainment, it should be thought provoking and life changing and should describe the truth of human existence!

Theatre of Cruelty Life is ultimately cruel and destructive and in the end we all inevitably Die!!