The Living Theatre is an American

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

company founded in 1947 and based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It is the oldest

experimental theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular ...

group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/poet

Julian Beck Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher ...

. After Beck's death in 1985, company member Hanon Reznikov became co-director with Malina; the two were married in 1988. After Malina's death in 2015, her responsibilities were taken over by her son Garrick Maxwell Beck. The Living Theatre and its founders were the subject of the 1983 documentary ''

Signals Through the Flames ''Signals Through the Flames'' is a 1983 documentary film on the work of Julian Beck and Judith Malina as the founders of The Living Theatre performance company. The title of the film is taken from the work of Antonin Artaud in his book on theatre ...

''.

History

In the 1950s, the group was among the first in the U.S. to produce the work of influential European playwrights such as Bertolt Brecht (''

In The Jungle of Cities ''In the Jungle of Cities'' (''Im Dickicht der Städte'') is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. Written between 1921 and 1924, it received its first theatrical production under the title ''Im Dickicht'' ("In the jungle") a ...

'' in New York, 1960) and

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

, as well as

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

poets such as T. S. Eliot and

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

. One of their first major productions was

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

's '' Desire Caught By the Tail''; other early productions were ''Many Loves'' by

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

and Luigi Pirandello's ''Tonight We Improvise''.Botting, Gary, "The Living Theatre", in ''The Theatre of Protest in America'' (Edmonton: Harden House, 1972), 18. Based in a variety of small New York locations which were frequently closed due to financial problems or conflicts with city authorities, they helped to originate

off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

and off-Broadway as significant forces in U.S. theater. Their work during this period shared some aspects of style and content with Beat generation writers. Also during the 1950s, the American composer Alan Hovhaness worked closely with the Living Theatre, composing music for its productions. In 1959, their production of '' The Connection'' attracted national attention for its harsh portrayal of drug addiction and its equally harsh language. In the early 1960s the Living Theatre was host to

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

minimalist performances by artists including

Simone Forti Simone Forti (born March 25, 1935), is an American Italian Postmodern artist, dancer, choreographer, and writer. Since the 1950s, Forti has exhibited, performed, and taught workshops all over the world. Her innovations in Postmodern dance, inclu ...

and Robert Morris. '' The Brig'' (1963), an

anti-authoritarian Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as "a form of social organisation characterised by submission to authority", "favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom" an ...

look at conditions in a Marine prison, was their last major production in New York before a tax dispute led to the closure of the theatre space and the brief imprisonment of Beck and Malina. Judith defended Julian at the IRS hearing dressed like Portia from ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

''. For the rest of the 1960s, the group toured chiefly in Europe. They produced more politically and formally radical work carrying an anarchist and pacifist message, with the company members creating plays collectively and often living together. Major works from this period included the adaptations '' Antigone'', ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...

'', and ''Paradise Now'', which became their best-known play. ''Paradise Now'', a semi-

improvisational Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

piece involving audience participation, was notorious for a scene in which actors recited a list of social taboos that included nudity, while disrobing; this led to multiple arrests for indecent exposure. The group returned to the U.S. in 1968 to tour ''Paradise Now'', ''Antigone'', ''Mysteries and Smaller Pieces'', and ''Frankenstein''. "That madman who inspires us all, Artaud, does have some advice," Beck said in an informal address at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

after his return, "and I think he is the philosopher, for those of us who work in theatre, whom we can reach toward most quickly, of whom we can say, yes, here is one man since

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

who does uphold the idea of the non-civilized man." He added: "Our work had always striven to stress the sacredness of life." In 1971 they toured in Brazil, where they were imprisoned for several months, then deported. The Living Theatre has toured extensively throughout the world, often in non-traditional venues such as

streets Streets is the plural of street, a type of road. Streets or The Streets may also refer to: Music * Streets (band), a rock band fronted by Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh * ''Streets'' (punk album), a 1977 compilation album of various early UK punk ba ...

and prisons. It has greatly influenced other American experimental theatre companies, notably The Open Theater (founded by former Living Theatre member

Joseph Chaikin Joseph Chaikin (September 16, 1935 – June 22, 2003) was an American theatre director, actor, playwright, and pedagogue. Early life and education The youngest of five children, Chaikin was born to a poor Jewish family living in the Borough Pa ...

) and

Bread and Puppet Theater The Bread and Puppet Theater (often known simply as Bread & Puppet) is a Political radicalism, politically radical puppet theater, active since the 1960s, based in Glover, Vermont . The theater was co-founded by Elka and Peter Schumann. Peter is ...

. The Living Theatre's productions have won four Obie Awards: ''The Connection'' (1959), ''The Brig'' (1963 and 2007), and ''Frankenstein'' (1968). Living Theatre 04

In 2006, The Living Theatre signed a 10-year lease on the basement of a new residential building under construction at 21 Clinton Street, between Houston and Stanton Streets on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The Clinton Street theater is the company's first permanent home since the closing of The Living Theatre on Third Street at Avenue C in 1993. The company moved into the completed space in early 2007 and opened in April 2007 with a revival of ''The Brig'' by Kenneth H. Brown, first presented at The Living Theatre at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in 1963. The re-staging, directed by Judith Malina, won

Obie Awards The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

for Direction and Ensemble Performance. In October 2006, the company opened a revival of ''Mysteries and Smaller Pieces'', the 1964 collective creation that defined the interactive and Artaudian style for which the company became famous. In late 2007 / early 2008 the company founder Judith Malina performed in ''Maudie and Jane'', a stage adaptation, directed by Reznikov, of the Doris Lessing novel, ''The Diary of Jane Somers''. In April 2008, Hanon Reznikov suffered a stroke. He died on May 3, 2008. In 2010, the company presented ''Red Noir'', adapted and directed by Judith Malina. In 2011, the company presented ''Korach'', by Malina, and a revival of ''Seven Meditations on Political Sado-Masochism'', directed by Malina and Tom Walker. Also in 2011, the company created ''The Plot Is The Revolution'', starring Malina and Silvia Calderoni, a co-production with the Italian group Motus. In 2012, the company presented ''The History of the World'', written and directed by Malina. In 2013, the company presented ''Here We Are'', written and directed by Malina. The company also vacated its Clinton Street space. In 2014, Judith Malina's play ''No Place to Hide'' premiered at the Clemente Soto Velez Center on the Lower East Side. The production later took to the streets of New York for the Underground Zero Festival, and was performed at Burning Man. Malina was writing ''Venus and Mars'' when she died in April 2015.

Goals and influences

From its conception, The Living Theatre was dedicated to transforming the organization of power within society from a competitive, hierarchical structure to cooperative and communal expression. The troupe attempts to do so by counteracting complacency in the audience through direct spectacle. They oppose the commercial orientation of Broadway productions and have contributed to the off-Broadway theater movement in New York City, staging poetic dramas. The primary text for The Living Theatre is '' The Theatre and its Double'', an anthology of essays written by Antonin Artaud, the French playwright. It was published in France in 1937 and by the Grove Press in the U.S. in 1958. This work deeply influenced Julian Beck, a bisexual painter of abstract expressionist works. The troupe reflects Artaud's influence by staging multimedia plays designed to exhibit his metaphysical

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 The ...

. In these performances, the actors attempt to dissolve the "

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

" between them and the spectators.

Plays and publications

* ''The Connection'' * ''The Brig'' * ''Mysteries'' * ''Antigone'' (adaptation) * ''Frankenstein'' * ''Paradise Now'' * ''The Living Book of the Living Theatre'' (1971) * ''The Legacy of Cain'' (1970-1978) * ''Turning the Earth'' * ''Seven Meditations on Political Sado-Masochism'' * ''Six Public Acts'' * ''The Money Tower'' * ''Prometheus at the Winter Palace (1978) * ''The Antigone of Sophocles'' (1979) * ''Masse Mensch'' (1980) * ''The Yellow Methuselah'' (1982) * ''The Archaeology of Sleep'' (1983)

References

Bibliography

* Neff, Renfrew (1970). ''The Living Theatre: U.S.A.'' * Rostagno, Aldo, with Judith Malina and Julian Beck (1970). ''We, the Living Theatre''. New York: Ballantine Books. * The Living Theatre (1971). ''Paradise Now''. New York: Random House. * Malina, Judith (1972). ''The Enormous Despair''. New York: Random House. * Pierre Biner (1972) ''The Living Theatre'' New York: Avon Books. * Malina, Judith (1984). ''The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1947-1957''. New York: Grove Press, Inc. * Mystic Fire Video (1989), ''

''. Documentary. Originally released by The Living Theatre in 1983 as a motion picture, produced and directed by Sheldon Rochlin and Maxine Harris.

External links

The Living Theatre official siteLiving Theatre records, 1945–1991
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...