Theater of the Avant-Garde 1890-1950 Copyright © 2001 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Designed by James J.Johnson and set in Electra Roman & Gill Sans type by Keystone Typesetting, Inc., Orwigsburg, PA. Printed in the United States of America. 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