ARTAUD –
THEATRE OF
CRUELTY
‘In Europe nobody knows how to scream
anymore’
‘Actors should be like torture victims who
are being burned and making signs from the
stake’
LO:
TO UNDERSTAND THE THEORY AND
INTENTION BEHIND ARTAUD’S
TEACHING
TO USE ARTAUD’S METHOD
P R A C T I C A L LY
1896 - 1948
• He is French.
• Overlaps with Stan/Brecht but very
different ideas!
ANTONIN
ARTAUD
• He is one of the most important
influences on many theatre practitioners
• Plague analogy – highlighting the
extremes of society – lived through
violent times in France.
• Much of the work he did when alive did
not work or was not financed – often
too extreme.
ANTONIN ARTAUD- 1896 –
1948
He had mental issues for all of
his adult life and lived in
institutions for many years –
diagnosed as schizophrenic.
He was also addicted to
opium.
He created a body of work called
‘Theatre of Cruelty.’ His aim was
to abolish realism and create a
sensory experience for the
audience
He was a French poet and
became involved with the
Surrealist movement
SURREALIST MOVEMENT
“the word cloud tells us
nothing of the beauty, the
changeability, the texture,
the colours of a cloud’
Artaud was obsessed with
the limitations of language,
searching instead for a
common language (later
taken on by Peter Brook).
THEATRE OF
CRUELTY
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.
Theatre of cruelty
The main goal is to shock and absorb the audience whilst reminding them they
are watching a play and that it is not real.
In one performance he used such
graphic images of the plague, the
audience were sick in their seats!
OUR ARTAUD JOURNEY…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Extremes
Language
Rhythm
Symbolism and movement
Dream world
Short performance
EXTREMES…
• Reach up high,
• Reach to the floor,
• Stretching out with both hands to the left and then to the right.
• Keep a continuous rhythm.
• Add in music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6K8_3l46
EY
Why would Artaud
want to push his
actors to the
extremes?
EXTREMES
Play a tennis game, have a tug of war, running race all in slow motion.
LANGUAGE…
• Stand in a line.
• Your emotion is ‘panic’.
• The first in line starts with as slight a response as possible.
• The next in line watches and builds the response a little
further,
• Then the third builds it further, and so on.
• Keep working up and down the line as long as is necessary.
Keep pushing them to take it further and further.
•
Repeat with word ‘anger’, ‘suspicion’ and ‘love’.
LANGUAGE…
• In a circle.
• Breath a specific motion. Join that breath.
• Artaud didn’t want to use
spoken language in a traditional
way, why?
• What impact might breathing
have to a performance?
LANGUAGE…
In pairs/three’s - using sounds only, build up an
argument from the first signs of disagreement, through
to a full-blown row, to apologizing and making-up.
Use as many sounds as possible. Accompany with
intense body language and gestures.
Choose one word. You can use this word and add this
to your symphony of sounds.
As a group, express physically and by using the sound
of the word to enhance their meaning:
Massage insanity order captivity meticulous
blossoming partnership distance
RHYTHM
Get into pairs and label yourselves A and B. Eyes shut. A claps out a
rhythm, B starts clapping out that rhythm so they understand it
together.
Spread yourselves out. Shut your eyes and then find each other just
with clapping out your rhythm!
Araud states that there is nothing like Rhythm for getting under the skin
of the audience. It is a very primitive response. The idea of drumming,
ritual, music to make us all feel part of something universal.
RITUAL
Ritual was very important to Artaud. Something that binds us in the early form of
theatre.
Rituals that were founded from praising God – using repeated actions, music, chants,
sounds.
In a group create a small ritual dance. Use the following:
• Rhythm/sounds
• Larger than life movement and repetitive gesture.
• Slow motion.
• LET YOURSELVES GO WITH THIS – DON’T MAKE IT WESTERNISED!!!
SYMBOLISM AND
MOVEMENT…
• For example, what do you think of when you hear the word horizon?
• Eg, boredom is like a ticking clock, anger is like two dogs fighting over
the same bone.
• In groups of 4, create physical symbolic images for the words
rejection and deceit.
DREAMS…
Think about the
weirdest dream you
have ever had.
Share some with the
group
PERFORMANCE
In groups, create a short
piece in the style of
‘Theatre of Cruelty’ on a
dream you have heard.
Use ideas of;
actor/audience
relationship, symbolic
physicality, push to
extremes, language
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO…
• Breakdown the story into small sections.
• Brainstorm each section looking for startling and individual ways of expressing
something symbolically.
• Choreograph each section to maximise the use of the whole group as they move
from image to image, from impression to impression. Check that physical
expression is large enough.
• Add whatever you can to enhance the action and the moods: amplified sound,
light, bearing in mind that the breathing and sound created by you will probably
be enough.
• Aim for a finished piece in about half an hour, making it as powerful as possible.
PLENARY- YOUR OPINION OF
ARTAUD
• What elements did you enjoy/did you find effective/interesting?
• What are the differences to other practitioners you have looked at?
• What is one thing you are going to take from this workshop?