The Theatre and its Double

In The Theatre and Its Double, first published in 1938, Antonin Artaud puts forward his radical theories on drama and theatre, which he saw as being stifled by conservatism and a lack of experimentation.
Containing the famous manifestos of the 'Theatre of Cruelty', this collection of essays analyses the underlying impulses of performance, provides suggestions on a physical-training method for actors, and features a long appreciation of the expressive values of Eastern dance drama.
This new English translation of Artaud's canonical text by Mark Taylor-Batty retains the idiosyncratic nature of the author's writing, communicating its fervour and ambition, while achieving a much-needed clarity. Through doing so, it facilitates a fuller appreciation of Artaud's artistic objectives and the original context in which they grew, aided by a newly translated set of his notes and drafts, and a selection of letters to his publisher, friends and associates concerning the book's genesis and the evolution of the concept of a 'Theatre of Cruelty'.
The commentary further contextualizes this material within Artaud's broader oeuvre, from his collaboration with the Surrealist group through to his plans to stage his own adaptation of Percy Shelley's Les Cenci in 1935.
A welcome addition to any theatre-lover's or student's bookshelf, this translation of Artaud's classic text offers clear and faithful insights into Artaud's theatre.

Antonin Artaud (1896 - 1948) was a French dramatist, poet, essayist, actor and theatre director, widely recognized as one of the major figures of twentieth-century theatre and the European avant-garde. Artaud's most significant contribution to drama theory is his "theater of cruelty" and, although it was not widely embraced in practice, the ideas have been, and continue to be, the subject of many essays on modern theater.

Acknowledgements
Illustrations
Introduction: The Routes to Cruelty
The Theatre and its Double
Preface: Theatre and Culture
The Theatre and the Plague
Staging and Metaphysics
The Alchemical Theatre
On the Balinese Theatre
Theatre in the East and Theatre in the West
No More Masterpieces
Theatre and Cruelty
The Theatre of Cruelty (First Manifesto)
Letters Concerning Cruelty
Letters Concerning Language
The Theatre of Cruelty (Second Manifesto)
An Affective Athleticism
Two Notes
i.The Marx Brothers
ii.Autour d'une mère
Seraphim's Theatre
Notes, interviews, and correspondence
Appendix: The Dossier of The Theatre and its Double
Notes
Index