Antonin Artaud and reverberations

introduction

Abstract

Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) needs no introductions. His name stands out among the great creators and thinkers of the Performing Arts in the 20th Century, especially when it comes to the search for a theatrical language other than drama, but body-based in its expressiveness and movement – he discusses not only the body as a hieroglyph –  matrix of meanings in his Theatre of Cruelty – but lately the body of the performer as a free, anarchic body as well (the famous, and many times misunderstood, body-without-organs). Artaud’s contributions to construct the contemporary theatre are striking in their innovative and experimenting character, in all the multiplicity, untamedness, physics and intensity of the contemporary scene. Therefore, this special issue intends to widen the space for debate and connect scholars whose own works are pervaded by reverberations of Artaud’s work.