''The Theatre and Its Double'' (''Le Théâtre et son Double'') is a collection of
essays
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...
by French poet and playwright
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
. It contains his most famous works on the theatre, including his manifestos for a
Theatre of Cruelty
The Theatre of Cruelty (french: Théâtre de la Cruauté, also french: Théâtre cruel) is a form of theatre generally associated with Antonin Artaud. Artaud, who was briefly a member of the surrealist movement, outlined his theories in ''The Theat ...
.
Composition and publication history
''The Theatre and Its Double'' was originally published 1 February 1938 as part of
Gallimard's Métamorpheses Collection in an edition limited to 400 copies.
:51 The books consists of Artaud's collected essays on theatre dating from the early thirties, many of which were published in
Nouvelle Revue Française
''La Nouvelle Revue Française'' (; "The New French Review") is a literary magazine based in France. In France, it is often referred to as the ''NRF''.
History and profile
The magazine was founded in 1909 by a group of intellectuals including And ...
(NRF). Artaud was in "a near catatonic state in the mental hospital of
Sainte-Anne" in Paris when the book was finally published.
:51 He had been able to correct the text's proofs between his journeys to Ireland and Mexico.
:104
Chronological release
'On the Balinese Theatre' (1931)
Part 1 was published as 'The Balinese Theatre at the Colonial Exhibition' in NRF (no. 217, Oct. 1931).
: 106
'Production and Metaphysics' (1932)
Originally presented as a lecture at the Sorbonne (10 Dec 1932). Published in NRF (no. 221, 1st Feb. 1932).
: 105
'Alchemist Theatre'/'El teatro alquemico' (1932)
Published in Spanish in the Buenos Aires-based magazine ''Sur'' (no. 6, Sept. 1932).
: 106
'The Theatre of Cruelty' (1932)
Published in NRF (no. 229, 1st Oct. 1932).
: 105
'Second Manifesto of The Theatre of Cruelty' (1932)
Originally published as a sixteen-page booklet by
Éditions Denoël
Éditions Denoël is a French culture, French publishing house founded in 1930. Acquired by Éditions Gallimard in 1951, it publishes collections spanning fiction, non-fiction and comic books. It published some of the most important French authors ...
(Fontenay-Au-Roses, 1933).
: 111
'Theatre and the plague' (1933)
Originally presented as a lecture at the Sorbonne (6 April 1933), it was revised and published in NRF (no. 253, 1st Oct. 1934).
: 105
Artaud developed the essay while undergoing acupuncture therapy. He was 'surprised and amazed' at how the treatment pinpointed 'with precision and remarkable accuracy the deep, debilitating and demoralizing troubles that have afflicted
imfor so long', something he related to 'the "exteriorization" of "latent cruelty" causing the "organic disorder" (OC 4: 33) in plague-victims'.
Themes
Artaud intended his work as an attack on theatrical convention and the importance of language of drama, opposing the vitality of the viewer's sensual experience against theatre as a contrived literary form, and urgency of expression against complacency on the part of the audience.
In ''No More Masterpieces'', Artaud attacks what he believed to be the elitism of an irrelevant, outdated literary/theatrical canon.
Artaud expressed the importance of recovering "the notion of a kind of unique language half-way between gesture and thought".
English translation and influence
The first English edition of ''The Theatre and Its Double'' was translated by
M.C. Richards and published by
Grove Press
Grove Press is an United States of America, American Imprint (trade name), publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it in ...
in 1958. Richards encountered Artaud's name in
Jean-Louis Barrault's memoir ''Reflections on the Theatre'' (1951).
:35 Prior to beginning the translation, Richards had collaborated in a close reading of the text with
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
and
David Tudor
David Eugene Tudor (January 20, 1926 – August 13, 1996) was an American pianist and composer of experimental music.
Life and career
Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan ...
at
Black Mountain College
Black Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The college was ideologically organized around John Dewey's educational ...
. Cage credited this close reading as the impetus for ''
Theater Piece No.1'', a 1951
performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
event regarded as the first
Happening
A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events.
History
Origins
Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...
. Participants included
Robert Rauschenberg
Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...
,
Charles Olson
Charles Olson (27 December 1910 – 10 January 1970) was a second generation modern American poet who was a link between earlier figures such as Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and the New American poets, which includes the New York ...
, David Tudor and
Merce Cunningham
Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
. Afterwards, Tudor encouraged Richards to begin translating the text.
Richards' translation introduced Artaud to the avant-garde scene in America, and is still considered to be the definitive English translation of the text.
It is still read, and strongly influenced the directing philosophies of such renowned avant-garde and contemporary groups and figures as
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...
,
The Living Theatre
The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/po ...
,
The Open Theatre The Open Theater was an experimental theatre group active from 1963 to 1973.
Foundation
The Open Theater was founded in New York City by a group of former students of acting teacher Nola Chilton, together with director Joseph Chaikin (formerly of T ...
and
La Mama
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
's
Great Jones Repertory Company The Great Jones Repertory Company is the Repertory Company of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City.
The company is named after Great Jones Street, where La MaMa's rehearsal building is located. As des ...
, most notably in their production of
The Trojan Women
''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC during ...
directed by
Andrei Serban
Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian-American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at the ...
and composed by
Elizabeth Swados
Elizabeth Swados (February 5, 1951 – January 5, 2016) was an American writer, composer, musician, and theatre director. Swados received Tony Award nominations for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Origin ...
.
See also
*
''Le Mondes 100 Books of the Century
References
1938 books
French books
Non-fiction books about theatre
Works by Antonin Artaud
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