Theatre and Acting/Antonin Artaud

History

Born on the 4th September 1896, under the Christian name of Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, he became known for his contribution the art of surrealism. He suffered from meningitis at a young age, and later on he suffered from neuralgia, and severe depression, he was sent for prolonged periods of time to the sanatorium. He was conscripted to the French army, but was allegedly discharged due to his habit of sleepwalking

What he believed in and what techniques he used

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. The theatrical techniques used in the theatre of cruelty are mainly used to attract the audience’s attention and to express the characters themselves in such a way that the audience cannot fathom out what the play is actually about. The plays themselves usually have no storyline, but instead have many different themes going on at the same time; this causes confusion and discomfort for the audience.