The interrelationship between major political, social and philosophical movements events in the 20th century and the development of different theatre concepts.
Twentieth century theatre cannot be confined to theatre alone. The concept of theatre has undergone a paradigmatic shift during the last hundred years and has witnessed the emergence of a multitude of social, cultural and political changes. Playwrights of the previous century tried to accommodate those transformations on the stage and this gave way to the birth of different theatres, breaking the conventional rules of the stage. The prolific growth in the field of science and technology, spirit of nationalism, the transformation from rural agrarian based economy to the urban industrial economy, expansion of city life and above all the effect of two greatest wars has influenced the dramatists to a great extent in the choice of theme and mode of presentation.
The theatre revolution of the twentieth century started in the late nineteenth century through realism. In fact realism marked the birth of modern theatre and now it is into the second century. Dramatists brought controversial subjects on stage, confronting the audience with a challenge rather than to please them. The melodrama of the nineteenth century was lampooned. Dramatists like Shaw and Ibsen adapted their plays to suit the social and psychological issues of the period. On the other hand Strindberg and Chekhov dumped the dramatic rules and stock characters. In fact several plays were banned for public staging because of the controversial themes. Modern theatre marked its initiation with the emergence of Naturalism after which several aesthetic movements of the twentieth century such as Realism, Dadaism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Absurdism and Postmodernism emerged.
Realists tried to create an authentic depiction of society in their plays and they considered that their plays were moral as the highest form of morality is the depiction of truth. Realism gave way to Naturalism which had its origins in France during 1860s. It was nurtured out of the interest in Darwins theory of evolution. The theories related to creation of life, natural selection and dependence on the environment influenced the people to a large extent and this resulted in Naturalism as a mode of opposition to Romanticism which signified emotional interest and personal experience. Histrionic acting was completely rejected on Naturalist theatre and instead performance was solely based on the actors emotions and psychology. Further the usage of realistic stage props was encouraged. Naturalism emerged as the source of mainstream theatre performances and had a great influence on the political and social life of the people. Turney quotes the famous Jean Jullien who defined Naturalism A play is a slice of life put onstage with art in his essay. Naturalism basically is a socio-political movement which is rooted in Naturalist philosophy. The playwrights associated with Naturalism tried their best to portray the objective picture of the society and individuals in an authentic way, by bringing the life of the middle class live on stage for the first time in the history of theatre.
Theatre is a public art form and in particular Naturalist theatre was closely interwoven with the events and the social concerns of the contemporary age more than any other art forms. The emphasis is placed on Ibsen, Chekhov, Stanislavski and The Moscow Art Theatre who gave way to new social and economic reforms along with the advent of new philosophical ideas. Antoines Thtre Libre is the first successful naturalist theatre. To start with a short piece by Zola titles Jacques Damour was staged and in order to reflect the authenticity of Naturalism, the stage was modified and an experiment in stage lighting was carried out which included the dimming of auditorium and removal of foot lights. Antoine encouraged the performance of foreign playwrights with a bend towards Naturalism such as Ibsen and Strindberg to stage their plays. Independent theatres which allowed the performance of Naturalist plays include J. T. Greins Independent Theater in London, Andr Antoines Thtre Libre in Paris and Konstantin Stanislavskys Moscow Art Theater.
A strong sense of ambiguity in terms of extreme individualism and critique is observed in the plays of Ibsen and Strindberg. They employed several innovative techniques which heightened the fictiveness of the theatre rather than suppressing the theatrical effect. Rebellato states that, In place of the psychological breakdowns of Strindberg and the political passions of Ibsen and Zola, Chekhov wrote with a detached calmness that put action into the background. Chekhov along with Stanislavsky experimented with yet another approach towards Naturalism in his plays at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Aestheticism developed on par with Naturalism. This movement basically focused on beauty of artworks over the political and social use of artworks. It primarily emphasizes on Art for Arts sake principle. Symbolism, which is another movement of the twentieth century dealt with mysticism and subjectivity. Symbolism and Naturalism gave way to Futurism which had its origins in Italy. This movement was led by F.T.Marinetti who depended on puppets and machines instead of human characters. The anarchy that existed in the society was reflected through this movement and futurists in Italy associated themselves with Fascism and advocated war as a solution. Also the Russian futurists considered themselves as socialists and participated in the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. Berghaus states that Futurist theatre was inextricably intertwined with political actions. In fact, both emerged to such an extent that it is impossible to separate the one from the other. It is not astonishing, therefore, to find the artistic events were shaped by their political function, and vice versa, that primarily political events were given an aesthetic appearance.
Poets, artists and actors who were disenchanted with the First World War fled to Switzerland and formed an intellectual revolt movement called Dadaism. They believed that logic and order has led to the World War and hence completely rejected logic in every possible form. Irrational and intuitive thoughts were appreciated by them. Dadaists were against war and believed in socialism in order to form a class-less society. Dadaism was a prelude to Surrealism which featured the surprise elements and juxtaposed controversial themes. Surrealists similar to Dadaists associated themselves with communist parties and Antonin Artaud is one the most influential surrealists who later created the Theatre of Cruelty, inspired by ancient rituals.
Advancements in the theories related to theatre function marked the birth of Theatre of Cruelty. Antonin Artaud believed that the primary function of the theatre to get the audience rid of the repressive effects of modernization and civilization and this is done by letting out their instinctual energy. Talking about Artaud, Innes states that He mirrors the disillusion of the 1960s1970s with conventional forms of society and religion, and pioneered the experiments with hallucinatory drugs. He achieved this on stage by introducing mythic spectacles that include screams, pulsating lights, groans and oversized puppets. Artaud himself states, I employ the word cruelty in the sense of an appetite for life, a cosmic rigor, an implacable necessity, in the gnostic sense of a living whirlwind that devours the darkness it is the consequence of an act. Everything that acts is a cruelty. It is upon this idea of extreme action, pushed beyond all limits, that theatre must be rebuilt. He felt that world of theatre has become empty and hence employed innovative techniques to revolutionize the stage. He wished to connect to his audience is a more authentic and primal way, which he felt has been lost in most people. Artaud in his The Theatre and Its Double talks about the primitive myths, plague and the animated hieroglyphics of the Balinese and thereby portrays the cure for the decadence of the modern society lies in the ancient primitive forms of living which is more instinct based than intellectual based.
Theatre of Cruelty was developed by Artaud as a mode of rebellion against bourgeois conformism. He believed that subconscious confusion arises when an individual is confined to the norms of the society. As Dacko claims, Just as the Romantics fought for liberty, Artaud also demanded freedom from traditional societal thought in his Theatre of Cruelty. According to Artaud theatre is life and not a mirror that reflects life. Hence he felt that individuals are thwarted from looking at things in an innovative way due to their respect and reverence to the master pieces of the past. He was strongly convinced that people are suppressing their feelings and not completely participating in their life.
I want to give them the experience itself,
The plague itself,
So they will be terrified,
And awaken.
I want to awaken them.
Because they do not realize they are dead.
Their death is total, like deafness and blindness.
This is agony I portrayed.
Mine yes,
And everyone who is alive
(Lewis)
Theatre of Cruelty stressed on overcoming the conventions of the theatre which included costume, stage, lighting, auditorium and the like. Artaud attempted to rebuild altogether a new theatre and cruelty refers to a hunger after life and the persistent need of pain in life and he believed that anything that acts is cruelty.
One of the most significant playwrights of the Avant-garde movements, Piscator pioneered Epic Theatre and Bertolt Brecht perfected it, which emphasized on the interruption in the flow of the plot and acting, in order to provide an objective depiction of the society. This style and technique was popularized by Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator, apart from Brecht. Epic Theatre is influenced by the horrors of the First World War and Great Depression and the resulting pathetic human conditions. Bercht strongly believed that theatre is a powerful medium to bring about a radical social and political change in the society.
Epic Theatre attempted to influence and to teach the audience to inquire and criticize about the inequalities and denial of justice in modern life through two techniques namely theatricalism and alienating or distancing. Theatricalism refers to the audience being made aware of watching a play instead of becoming subjectively influenced by the play and distancing, similar to theatricalism refers to the actors to strike a balance between enacting the role of a particular character onstage and making the audience realize that the actor is acting out on the stage. Brecht talking about Epic Theatre stated that, Today when human character must be understood as the totality of all social conditions the epic form is the only one that can comprehend all the processes, which could serve the drama as materials for a fully representative picture of the world.
Epic Theatre laid emphasis on objectivity of the audience towards the stage. In order to obtain optimal objectivity and the audience to remain detached from the theatre, most of the characters were nameless. White make-up was used for the characters and a voluntary interaction between the singer and the orchestra could be witnessed on the Epic Theatre. Instead for using everyday language, which would promote the bonding between the audience and the stage both prose and poetry is used hand in hand so that the audience remain emotionally detached from the stage.
Whenever Brecht wished to comment on the society, he usually set the play in a different country and a different period of time. The Epic theatre had a practical purpose. It shows that man is responsible for the political and economical changes in the society and also reiterates that he is capable enough to alter them. Hence when a play is set in a different country and different period of time, the audience can freely criticize the human behavior in the play with a social point of view.
American writers like Eugene ONeill, Arthur Miller and Edward Albee explored the tragedy of everyday life in America in their plays which reflected the economic, social and political challenges confronted by an average citizen. Meta-theatre on the other hand insists on role-playing and portrays the relationship between the theatrical illusions and reality of life and Luigi Pirandellos Six Characters In Search of an Author is a meta-tragedy where the playwright brings out hide and seeks between the theatrical illusion and reality. After the Second World War, the theatres started expanding across various cities in Europe and most dramas were based on Brechts Epic Theatre and Artauds Theatre of Cruelty which used theatre as a medium of social analysis and influenced the Environmental Theatre movement during the 1960s. People were completely disillusioned watching the horrors of the Second World War and the threat of atom bomb and during the 1950s and 1960s several playwrights felt that Theatre of Cruelty was the right mode of representation of their bottled-up emotions. The abusive language used in John Osbornes Look Back in Anger and Edward Albees Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf Reflect the disillusioned state of mind of the audience and their anger against the society.
Theatre of Cruelty and Epic Theatre represented the non-conventional form of theatre in the twentieth century. Brecht only opposed certain sections of the conventional theatre but Artaud emphasized on the complete transformation of the existing roles of theatre which represents a radical opposition to the conventional theatre. Post-war era witnessed the evolution of theatre to a great extent even Realism and Surrealism took turns to influence the theatre of the latter part of the twentieth century. The social upheavals in the late twentieth century related to civil rights, feminism, gay liberation, Afro-American lifestyle and the AIDS crisis became the influencing factors of the theatre dealing with controversial themes. The witty surrealistic play of Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun, depicting the Afro-American life are few examples to quote.
Theatre, a mode of reflection of life has been undergoing a continuous transformation from the state of melodrama in the latter half of the nineteenth century to the postmodernist theatre of the twentieth century. As the theatrical concepts change, the social, political cultural perspectives are also undergoing a radical transformation. The influence of theatre over the society and the society over theatre reflect the strong bond between the two entities and one cannot exist without the other.
Throughout the century, various mediums of art have undergone complete metamorphosis and theatre is no exception. Further theatre being a public art form, it represents the slice of life onstage and hence it is more close to people than any other art form. This is because audience try to relate to the characters since it either reflects their life, relates to their past or anticipates their future. The revolution in the medium of theatre is not just confined to the twentieth century but it is well set to continue into the twenty first century as well.
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