Which term is most closely associated with Antonin Artaud's theory?

Which term is most closely associated with Antonin Artaud's theory?

• A. Theatre of Cruelty
• B. Theatre of the Absurd
• C. Problem Play
• D. Dénouement

Answer: (A)

Artaud’s idea centers on a Theatre of Cruelty, a form that seeks to jolt audiences into a direct, visceral experience rather than a comfortable, rational story. He argued that theatre should assault the senses and pry open the subconscious through ritualized, physical performance, using sound, movement, lighting, and space to disrupt conventional spectatorship and awaken deeper emotional truths. This approach aims to purge spectators of passive viewing and reconnect drama with the primal forces of life, making the experience transformative and immediate. The Theatre of Absurd, by contrast, is a later movement linked to writers like Beckett and Ionesco that highlights existential meaninglessness and illogical dialogue rather than Artaud’s ritual intensity. A problem play is a term describing drama that foregrounds social issues to provoke thought, not a specific theatrical theory about how performance should affect the audience. Dénouement is simply the term for the ending of a plot, not a theory about theatre’s method or purpose.

Artaud’s idea centers on a Theatre of Cruelty, a form that seeks to jolt audiences into a direct, visceral experience rather than a comfortable, rational story. He argued that theatre should assault the senses and pry open the subconscious through ritualized, physical performance, using sound, movement, lighting, and space to disrupt conventional spectatorship and awaken deeper emotional truths. This approach aims to purge spectators of passive viewing and reconnect drama with the primal forces of life, making the experience transformative and immediate.

The Theatre of Absurd, by contrast, is a later movement linked to writers like Beckett and Ionesco that highlights existential meaninglessness and illogical dialogue rather than Artaud’s ritual intensity. A problem play is a term describing drama that foregrounds social issues to provoke thought, not a specific theatrical theory about how performance should affect the audience. Dénouement is simply the term for the ending of a plot, not a theory about theatre’s method or purpose.