1. SURREALISM
&
ITS THEATRE
1920s
By: Noor Fa’eezah
2.
3. CONTENTS
• Introduction on Surrealism
- Historical background
• The birth of Surrealism
Apollinaire Breton
Breton Artaud
• Surrealist Theatre: Antonin Artaud
- Theatre of Cruelty
• Impact on the 20th century theatre
• Reception/Acceptance of Surrealism
4. SURREALISM historical background
• The term "surrealism" was coined by Guillaume
Apollinaire in 1917 to describe his own play
The Mammaries/Breasts of Tiresias.
• After Apollinaire's death in 1918,
Andre Breton became the spokesperson for
the Surrealist movement in 1924
• A cultural movement; developed
in both visual and theatrical arts in France.
• Work on the subconscious, surrealist artists
and writers explored human dreams
and desires.
• Pictured as something which
“We don’t usually expect to see in real life.”
5. SURREALISM historical background
• Influenced by Sigmund Freud's
psychoanalytical theories.
• Surrealism developed out of the Dada
activities during the World War I.
• Surrealism works uses values that are
surprise, attractive, abstract, unexpected,
horror, and etc.
• It tries to express the workings of the
subconscious and is known for its absurd
combinations of subject matter.
• Influenced people’s political thought,
philosophy, literary, and social theory.
6. ANDRE BRETON founder
• Born: 19 Feb 1896 in Tinchebray ; France.
Died: 28 Sept1966.
• Poet, critic, editor of the Magazine
“La Revolution Surrealiste” published the first
“Surrealist Manifesto” in 1924.
• How the mind works and began to
experiment with new ways of writing;
“automatic writing”
• Breton declared that *the unconscious was
the source of truth. (advice)
7. BRETON’s follower: Antonin Artaud
• One of the key writers who followed Breton's
advice was Antonin Artaud.
• Abandoned any sense of order and
rationality, and included an anarchic sense of
humour in his work.
• THROUGH HIS PLAYS:
To stop dramatic art simply being a representation
of reality.
• Artaud believed that the *inner truth of the
subconscious was more "real" than anything
external.
• 1920s and 1930s; his best known surrealist plays:
"Upset Stomach " and "The Mad Mother”.
8. THEATRE OF CRUELTY YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIXGdOMpJs8&feature=related
9. Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty
• Antonin Artaud created the Theatre of Cruelty.
• A major influence on avant-garde
20th century theatre; Living Theatre and the
Theatre of the Absurd.
• Connect people with something more primal,
honest and true within themselves.
• Emotions, feelings, and the metaphysical were
expressed not through text or dialogue but
physically.
• Depicts the subconscious experience, moody tone
and disjointed structure, sometimes imposing a
unifying idea.
10. Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty
“Without an element of cruelty at the root of
every spectacle, the theatre is not possible.
In our present state of degeneration it is
through the skin that metaphysics must be
made to re-enter our minds”
Antonin Artaud,
Theatre and its Double
11. Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty
• By cruelty, he meant not sadism or causing
pain, but rather a violent, physical
determination to shatter the false reality.
• Theatre is not an area for escape from
the world.
• Involvement of the spectator in every
spectacle.
12. Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty
“Artaud sought to remove aesthetic distance,
bringing the audience into direct contact with
the dangers of life. By turning theatre into a
place where the spectator is exposed rather
than protected, Artaud was committing an act
of cruelty upon them.”
– Lee Jamieson
13. Artaud’s impact on 20 th century theatre
• Surrealist theatre and Artaud's
"Theatre of Cruelty" were
inspirational to many within the
group of playwrights that the critic
Martin Esslin called the
"Theatre of the Absurd“
• Esslin argues that similarities may
be traced to an influence from
the Surrealists; theme & technique.
15. Artaud’s impact on 20 th century theatre
Artaud's brand of surrealist theatre had a profound impact
on Morrison's dark poetic sensibility of cinematic
theatricality.
16. RECEPTION on surrealism
• Not enthusiastically received by the critics
and audiences.
• Shocked by what they thought was uncivilized
behaviour on stage.
• Surrealism in the theatre was largely absorbed
by the emergence of the Theatre of the Absurd
during World War II.
• Absurdist approach to drama made sense to
audiences who had seen the absurd in real life,
during the war.
(Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and Jean Genet)
17. RECEPTION on surrealism
• Artaud continued writing and the
influence of surrealism is evident in
the work of a few contemporary
dramatists, Caryl Churchill.
• However, its influence on
contemporary theatre
is slight compared with the
contemporary literature, art,
film and poetry.
18. SUMMARY
• Surrealism was a literary, artistic and revolutionary
movement, founded in Paris during the 1920s.
• The Theatre of Cruelty is a surrealist form of theatre
theorised by Antonin Artaud.
• Overcome societal traditions that oppressed the
freedom of the individual, to explore, in a completely
uninhibited manner, the far reaches of one’s imagination,
dreams and desires.
• Work on the subconscious; *the unconscious was
the source of truth.
• Two words were key to Surrealism:
Liberation and Exploration.
19. REFERENCES
ARTAUD, A. (1958). The theater and its double. New York: Grove Press, Inc.
DAWN.A, with MATTHEW.G: "Surrealism", The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Ed. Hugh Brigstocke.
Oxford University Press, 2001. Grove Art Online.
Accessed October 4, 2012, GroveArt.com
DRAIN, R. (1995). Twentieth century theater: A source book. Chicago: Routledge.
from http://science.jrank.org/pages/11371/Surrealism-In-Beginning.html
FREDERIC , P., Agnes , F., & McBrewster, J. (2010). Theatre of cruelty. Alphascript Publishing.
LAUERMAN, C. (1996). Artaud: The `madman' who changed theater. Retrieved from
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-02-15/features/9602150259_1_antonin-artaud-paris-goodman-
theatre
MCKENZIE, E. (n.d.). Surrealism in theatre. THEATRE, Retrieved from
http://entertainmentguide.local.com/surrealism-theatre-6338.html
JEROME. P. Crabbe, Theatre Database; Surrealism in the Theatre;
October 27, 2006
SCHUMACHER, C. (1989). Artaud on theatre. London: Methuen London.
Hello everyone, The “ism” that I have chosen is Surrealism which evolved in the early 1920s.
1. Introduction on What is Surrealism? Giving you a historical background of Surrealism2. The Birth of Surrealism; from Apollinaire Andre Breton Antonin Artaud3. Surrealist theatre: Antonin Artaud & its Theatre of Cruelty4. Impact on the 20th century theatre5. Reception/Acceptance of Surrealism
ApollinaireBetter known as a poet, Apollinaire introduced his first, and only, surrealist play, "The Breasts of Tiresias," in 1918. In his introduction, Apollinaire refers to the play as a surrealist drama and its use of dream-like sequences and comic word play was innovative in 1918. He is credited with introducing the concept of surrealism into theater. He died shortly after the play's first production, but other writers successfully adopted his techniques to produce a body of work categorized as surrealist.The start of Surrealism: - After Apollinaire died the following year, André Breton appropriated the term in homage to the fallen poet. Andre Breton started Surrealism again in 1924 with his “Manifesto du Surrealisme” Surrealism is a cultural movement that began/developed in France in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks, writings and also theatre. An artistic movement that brought together artists, thinkers and researchers; hunting for the sense of expression of the unconscious. Surrealism works with the subconscious mind without the intention of logical thinking.surrealist artists and writers explored human dreams and desires.It is pictured as something that we don’t usually expect to see in real life. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and (it does not follow the logic form)
Breton’s Surrealism was greatly influenced by Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical theories andhis practice of interpreting the meaning of dreams. In contrast to Apollinaire's surrealism, which was basically analogical, Breton's Surrealismwas preoccupied with the Freud’s unconscious.Surrealism developed out of the Dada activities during World War I and evolved in Paris.Dada movement is basically an artisticrevolution that began in the early 20th century. And was considered as an anti-art protest where itrejects the traditional art forms and theories.Surrealism works uses values that are surprise, attractive, abstract, unexpected and horror. It tries to express the workings of the subconscious and is known for its absurd combinations of subject matter.The Movements spread quickly and widely with influencing people’s political thought, philosophy, literary, and social theory.
Born: 19 feb 1896 in Tinchebray ; France. Died: He died on September 28, 1966, at the age of 70.(Tinchebray is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.)Andre Breton was a French poet and critic. Andre was studying medicine at first, but then he realized that his true interest lies within poetry. Also the starter of surrealism and was the editor of the magazine “La Revolution Surrealiste”.And, published his 1st manifesto in the “Surrealist Manifesto” in 1924. In which; where he became fascinated with how the mind works and began to experiment with new ways of writing; automatic writingAutomatic drawingwas developed by the surrealists, as a means of expressing the subconscious. In automatic drawing, the hand is allowed to move 'randomly' across the paper. In applying chance and accident to mark-making, drawing is to a large extent freed of rational control. Hence the drawing produced may be attributed in part to the subconscious and may reveal something of the psyche, which would otherwise be repressed.Breton declared that *the unconscious was the source of truth. (advice)
As Breton declared that the unconscious was the source of truth. One of the key writers who followed Breton's advice was Antonin Artaud. For centuries the prerequisites for exceptional art was order, rationality and clear thought. This was exactly the ideas abandoned by surrealist when they chose to go more in the direction of spontaneity, humour, originality, dream- and even nightmare-like interpretations of truth. They wanted to get rid of the idea of art as a mere replication of the reality and replace it with different and more interesting and absurd views of reality- views that looked more at the internal reality than just the exterior. THROUGHArtauds PlaysArtaud's objective was to stop dramatic art simply being a representation of reality. During the 1920's and 1930's surrealist experimented a lot with different techniques which would help them to break free from the ideas and conventions of their time. Surrealist writers wanted to replace observed reality with a vision of it that they believed was closer to the truth. In essence, they believed that the inner truth of the subconscious was more "real" than anything external. Among the best known surrealist plays of the 1920s and 1930s are Artaud's "Upset Stomach " and "The Mad Mother”.
Theatre of Cruelty is a form of theatre that was created by Antonin Artaud. It is a type of theatre that focuses of the audience’s subconscious, their dreams and obsessions. It involves mostly movement and gestures, not words or language. The actions often revolve around violence, both physical and psychic, sex and insanity. A play called “Spurt of Blood” written by Antonin Artaud is theatre of cruelty.
Artaud’s Theatre of CrueltyThe Theatre of Cruelty is a surrealist form of theatre theorised by Antonin Artaudin his book The Theatre and its Double.Though only one of his plays, Les Cenci, was ever produced in accordance with his theory, Theatre of Cruelty is a project for an experimental theatre that became a major influence on avant-garde 20th-century theatre in which his ideas influenced avant-garde movements such as the Living Theatre and the Theatre of the Absurd.Artaudthought that society and the world of theatre had become an empty shell. In the Theatre of Cruelty, he was trying to revolutionize theatre.He was trying to connect people with something more primal, honest and true within themselves that had been lost for most people.Artaudcreated the Theatre of Cruelty where emotions, feelings, and the metaphysical were expressed not through text or dialogue but physically, Artaud wanted to get rid of words from his theatre thus creating a mythological, archetypal, allegorical vision, closely related to the world of dreams. He thought theywere limiting as were all the subject matters chosen by contemporary dramatists. Depicts the subconscious experience, moody tone and disjointed structure, sometimes imposing a unifying idea.
"Without an element of cruelty at the root of every spectacle," he writes, "the theatre is not possible. In our present state of degeneration it is through the skin that metaphysics must be made to re-enter our minds." In according to Artaud: By "cruelty," Artaud referred not to sadism or causing pain, but rather a violent, physical determination to shatter the false reality that, he wrote, "lies like a shroud over our perceptions."
By cruelty, he meant not sadism or causing pain, but rather a violent, austere, physical determination to shatter the false reality which, he said, lies like a shroud over our perceptions. He wanted audiences to find in the theatre not an area for escape from the world, but the realisation of their worst nightmares and deepest fears. Artaud spoke of cruelty not in the sense of being violent, but the cruelty it takes for actors to completely strip away their masks and show an audience a truth that they do not want to see. Artaud's concept of cruelty is aimed at raising the conscience of the public through theatre. It does not involve physical or psychological cruelty, but refers to the involvement of the spectator in every spectacle.Artaud believed that the audience should be involved in the story and believed that the audience should feel heightened emotions; this became known as the theatre of cruelty. We are eliminating the stage and auditorium and replacing them with a kind of single site, without partition or barrier of any kind, which will itself become the theater of action. A direct communication will be established between the spectator and the spectacle, between the actor and the spectacle, because the spectator, by being placed in the middle of the action, is enveloped by it and caught in its cross fire.
Artaud sought to remove aesthetic distance, bringing the audience into direct contact with the dangers of life. By turning theatre into a place where the spectator is exposed rather than protected, Artaud was committing an act of cruelty upon them. – Lee Jamieson, Antonin Artaud: From Theory to Practice, Greenwich Exchange, 2007, p.23As a theatre writer, he has written books about the playwrights Antonin Artaud
Surrealist theatre and Artaud's "Theatre of Cruelty" were inspirational to many within the group of playwrights that the critic Martin Esslin called the "Theatre of the Absurd" (in his 1963 book of the same name). Though not an organized movement, Esslin grouped these playwrights together based on some similarities of theme and technique; Esslin argues that these similarities may be traced to an influence from the Surrealists.
In English theater Peter Brook was a major filter for Artaudian ideas, through his book "The Empty Space." His productions of "King Lear" (1962) and (1964) bore the most marked Artaudian influence..Theatrical practitioner Peter Brook took inspiration from Artaud's "Theatre of Cruelty" in a series of workshops that led up to his well-known production of Marat/Sade.
The popular mid-twentieth-century Late Poet and Singer of The Legendary 1960's Rock Group, THE DOORS, JIM MORRISON was directly influenced by Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty.Jim Morrison was the first to apply Artaudian ideas to popular music when he and keyboardist Ray Manzarek started The Doors in 1965. He employed a conscious, but sometimes unconscious, method of arousing the so-called "Rock Music" audience to face "reality", cathartically. Morrison wanted to blend rock and drama to create a new theatrical form. He believed rock concerts were the modern equivalent of the ritualistic celebrations of primitive cultures.He failed in this effort a majority of the time, often overestimating the potential of the audience to transcend the bounds of superficial fandom and fad-induced behavior.Morrison enrolled in and attended Jack Hirschman's famous course on Artaud at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1964, while an undergraduate student majoring in Cinematography and Theatre.
Reception/ResponseSurrealist works were not enthusiastically received by the critics and audiences, and had a fairly limited appeal. Some were shocked by what they thought was uncivilized behaviour on stage, and many critics thought it was a literary phase that would pass quickly. Indeed, surrealism in the theatre was largely absorbed by the emergence of the Theatre of the Absurd during World War II. Audiences after the war had no time for what was seen as works without logic, but the Absurdist approach to drama, captured by Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and Jean Genet, made perfect sense to audiences who had seen the absurd in real life, during the war.
Reception/ResponseSome surrealists, like Artaud continued writing and the influence of surrealism is evident in the work of a few contemporary dramatists, such as Caryl Churchill. Photo: Caryl Churchill's THE SKRIKER, University of Minnesota Theatre Arts & Dance productionCaryl Churchill:Her plays are striking, startling, funny and frightening. She performs linguistic gymnastics and crosses centuries in only years. Her characters are somehow otherworldly yet completely real. Which is probably why so much of her work so deeply disturbs me.However, its influence on contemporary theatre is slight compared with its significant influence on contemporary literature, art, film and poetry.
Surrealism was a literary, artistic and revolutionary movement, founded in Paris during the 1920s. The Theatre of Cruelty is a surrealist form of theatre theorised by Antonin Artaud in his book The Theatre and its Double. Its primary goal was to overcome societal traditions that oppressed the freedom of the individual, to explore, in a completely uninhibited manner, the far reaches of one’s imagination, dreams and desires. Work on the subconscious, surrealist artists and writers explored human dreams and desires. *the unconscious was the source of truth. Two words were key to Surrealism: Liberation andExploration.