Artaud's theatrical principles

Résumé du document

Artaud stated that ‘theatre is first ritualistic and magical, in other words bound to powers, […] and whose effectiveness is conveyed through gesture, directly linked to the rites of theatre which is the very practice and the expression of a hunger for magical and spiritual manifestations.' (1956 in Schumacher, C. 1989: 123,124). In Islands in the Stream (2004) by physical theatre company Derevo, this idea seemed particularly visible as the production held a dream-like beauty, which was conveyed, on a total level, in order to give the audience what looked like a perfect illusion. Indeed, central to Artaud's principles on ritual theatre is the idea that theatre is a total and absolute performance. It is an experience during which director, performer and spectator, by being pushed to their extremes, are going to surpass their limits.

Extraits

[...] Artaud's theatrical principles Artaud's writings offer a series of key theatrical principles around which many contemporary physical theatre companies have based their work. Examine in detail one or two works that you have seen identifying the importance of Artaudian practice to their communication. Artaud stated that ‘theatre is first ritualistic and magical, in other words bound to powers, [ ] and whose effectiveness is conveyed through gesture, directly linked to the rites of theatre which is the very practice and the expression of a hunger for magical and spiritual manifestations.' (1956 in Schumacher, C. [...]

[...] Artaud believed that every show should contain ‘physical, objective elements perceptible to all'. He also stressed the importance of ‘apparitions', ‘brilliant lighting', ‘incantational beauty', ‘attractive harmonies' and ‘rare musical notes' (1970: 72). These ideas were explored in Islands in the Stream through set design, lighting and sound. Indeed, the stage at the Riverside Studios did have, as Artaud requested, ‘special interior height and depth dimensions' (1970: 74) and although it was a proscenium arch stage, its apparent security was broken. [...]

[...] It gave the idea of this superior ghost using his subjects and luring them, as seen with the bubble. The performers also seemed to be under the control of the sea, as they were working through rhythm and seemed united by the set. In Artaudian theatre practice, text, speech and gesture have to be in perfect symbiosis and Artaud in fact saw ‘gestural or kinesics as the fundamental code of the theatre' (Bassnet-McGuire, 1980: 90). The theatre of cruelty gives gesture its importance and sets the text in relation to the action and not the opposite. [...]

[...] Oxford: Oxford University press, p Islands in the Stream By Anton Adasinsky and DEREVO. Composer: Roman Dubinnikov; Sound: Dimitry Abramov; Lighting: Falk Dittrich; Design: Andrey Rubstov. Morris, M Review of Islands in the Stream by Derevo in Summerscene Review, Salzburg, pg.un. Weber, S greatest thing of all: the virtual reality of theatre' in Scheer, E 100 years of Cruelty: Essays on Artaud. Sidney: Power Publications, p.7. Unlike poets such as J. Keats, R. W. Emerson and P.B. Shelley, who claimed themselves transcendentalists, E. [...]

[...] They are like the natural conclusion of gestures with the same attributes. All this with such a feeling of musical similarity, the mind is at last obliged to confuse them, attributing the sound qualities of the orchestra to the artist's hinged gesticulation. (1956: pg.un) This was visible when one of the performers moved his body and created the sounds of the sea and waves with a row. This process, along with a high quality of sound effects, also added a comic effect. [...]