Theater of the Avant-Garde, 1890-1950: A Critical Anthology

537 Pages·2001·7.57 MB·English

by  Professor Bert Cardullo

Theater
of the
Avant-Garde
1890-1950

Copyright © 2001 by Yale University.
All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Theater of the avant-garde, 1890-1950: a critical anthology /
edited by Bert Cardullo and Robert Knopf.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-300-08525-7 (cloth) - ISBN 0-300-08526-5 (pbk.)
I. Drama—20th century. 2. Experimental drama—History
and criticism. I. Cardullo, Bert. II. Knopf, Robert, 1961 -
PN6II2.T42 200I
808.82'9ll-dc2l 00-043891
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability of the Committee on Production
Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on
Library Resources.
3 4 5 6 7 89 10
To
Richard Gilman and Amo Selco
who taught us to love theater in all forms

V)
c
o
Editors' Note xi
En Garde! The Theatrical Avant-Garde in
Historical, Intellectual, and Cultural Context 1
BERTCARDULLO
I. Franco-Russian Symbolism 41
Maurice Maeterlinck, Interior (1891) 45
Maurice Maeterlinck, "The Modern Drama" (1904) 55
Valery Briusov, The Wayfarer (1910) 64
Valery Briusov, "Against Naturalism in the Theater" (1902) 72
1. Pataphysical Theater 77
Alfred Jarry, King Ubu (1896) 84
Alfred Jarry, "Theater Questions" (1897) 123
I* Intimate Theater/Chamber Drama 127
August Strindberg, The Ghost Sonata (1907) 134
August Strindberg, from Zones of the Spirit (1907) 161
4. Correspondences 169
Wassily Kandinsky, The Yellow Sound (1909) 173
Wassily Kandinsky, "On Stage Composition" (1912) 180
5. Italian Futurism 187
Umberto Boccioni, Genius and Culture (1915) 195
Francesco Cangiullo, Detonation (1915) 198
Filippo Marinetti, Feet (1915) 199
Filippo Marinetti, Emilio Settimelli, and Bruno Corra,
"The Futurist Synthetic Theater, 1915" (1915) 201
6. German Expressionism 207
Reinhard Sorge, The Beggar (1912) 212
Yvan Goll, "Two Superdramas" (1918) 262
7. Dada 265
|2 Tristan Tzara, The Gas Heart (1920) 272
Tristan Tzara, Dada Manifesto, 1918 (1918) 283
8. The Yheater of Pure Form 291
♦ Stanisiaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, The Cuttlefish (1922) 297
.^ Stanisiaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, "On a New Type of
* Play" (1920) 321
9. French Surrealism 327
Roger Vitrac, The Mysteries of Love (1927) 335
Andre Breton, First Surrealist Manifesto (1924) 365
10. The Theater of Cruelty 373
Antonin Artaud, The Spurt of Blood (1925) 378
Antonin Artaud, "No More Masterpieces" (1938) 382
I I • Russian Oberiu 389
Aleksandr Vvedensky, Christmas at the Ivanovs
(1938) 394
Daniil Kharms, Aleksandr Vvedensky, and others,
"The Oberiu Manifesto" (1928) 415
I I. American Dada and Surrealism 421
Gertrude Stein, Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights
(1938) 425
Gertrude Stein, "Plays" (1934) 450
11. The Theater of the Absurd 467
Arthur Adamov, The Invasion (1949) 472
Martin Esslin, "The Theater of the Absurd" (1961) 499
General Bibliography 503
Index 515