Artaud
The founder of the Theatre of Cruelty and pioneer of both the `theatrical European early 20th Century avant-garde movement and the surrealist movement (of which he was later expelled from). He was kind of "insane" (I don't really like using that word, but that is how he was regarded), and his theatre reflected his state of mind. As his works got progressively 'worse' and unpopular, so did his mental state, eventually leading to his alleged suicide after being found overdosed from laudanum after his colon cancer diagnosis.
- He had a visionary nature to his works.
- His actual plays were shockingly bad... with Les Cenci lasting for only 17 performances.
- He was only recognised as a convincing, respectable theatre figure posthumously.
- He was a bit of a strange guy and didn't have many friends (I think he's a pretty cool guy).
Theatre of Cruelty
Artaud founded the idea of the 'Theatre of Cruelty', aiming to be an "attack on the senses" of not only the audience but, arguably more importantly, the actors. Part of this concept, was the 'Plague Analogy', which stated that it "frames theatre as a contagious, violent force that destroys social, rational, and bodily constraints to force a deep, psychic transformation"; essentially provoking primal reactions and feelings from audiences and actors.
This concept of 'Theatre of Cruelty' has been taken and adapted by other theatre practitioners, such as Peter Brook.
