Antonin Artaud

Antonin Artaud (4 September 1896 - 4 March 1948) was born in Marseille, France. At four years old, Artaud contracted a severe case of meningitis, beginning a very long line of both physical and mental health issues. He began both as a visual artist and a writer and moved to Paris to pursue a career.

In 1913 he experience Barlanese dancers at the Paris Colonial Exposition, however, didn't understand the intentions and story being told by the dancers - this highly influenced his future work in theatre. This was also the year of his first edition of "First Manifesto for a Theatre of Cruelty."  was published and would later join as a chapter Theatre and It's Double. Artaud was also extremely passionate about the world of cinema and appeared in around 20 films between 1924 and 1935.

Artaud was a theorist and philosopher, so although he had different theories, he didn't test them out to develop them into methods. This means that his work can be interpreted and directed in many different ways due to the lack of instructions on how to take the text to the stage. His manifesto of Theatre Of Cruelty has influenced the performing world throughout the last century and well into this century (and no doubt into the next).

After being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, Artaud died at the foot of his bed on March 4 1948 in his psychiatric unit, alone.