Traces of a metaphysical act : a study of Antonin Artaud's notebooks from the final period

Abstract

It would seem that any discourse on Antonin Artaud departs from or resorts to Artaud’s 1938 collection of essays on the theatre: Le Théatre et Son Double. Critiques or attempts at understanding Artaud revolve around the idea of the Theatre of Cruelty, a term that is extracted from the first manifesto for Le Théatre de la Cruauté found in section VIII of the first edition of Le Théatre et Son Double. The majority of discourses on Artaud prior to the 1950s are highlighted by commentaries about his theatre projects and his insanity. From 1956 onwards Antonin Artaud’s work has been increasingly studied in various fields of research that are not necessarily confined to theatre studies and performance theory nor to wider scientific discourses on insanity and psychology. According to Peter Brook, Artaud’s particular influence derives from the power of his texts, and not from a practice that could serve as a model. Monique Borie reminds us that Jerzy Grotowski describes Artaud as a poet of the theatre, meaning a poet of theatrical possibilities. A poet who opens up the boundaries of that which is set, in order to open up the existing theatre to other possibilities. Seen in this light, Artaud may be described as a visionary who transmits his thoughts on the theatre in poetic form; a reflection that is supported by Artaud’s use of great metaphors whose power aims at going beyond the limits of the existing theatre. “The fact that Artaud never managed to materialize his proposals does not in any way compromise the legitimacy of his powerful influence on theatre practice. On the contrary -according to Brook- “the power of Artaud’s influence resides precisely in those texts that do not propose the application of a method or propose a technique that could be adopted. These texts offer a vision-limit that can be regarded as a horizon towards which one strives.” One of the main characteristics of Artaud's work is that of being able to be adopted in distinct areas of study and applied in different fields of research. The possibility of the dissemination of Artaud's work in distinct areas of research is a result of his work's