The Theatre of Cruelty and the Drama of the 1950s
The Theatre of Cruelty and the Drama of the 1950s

Summary/Abstract: The stage of the ’50s brings a new aesthetic attitude, initially perceived as a threat to the theatre itself. Many voices talked about the death of representation, about final aesthetics, but time has proved that it was merely an effort to adapt the art of performance to the demands of contemporary society.The idea of cruelty in the theatre, stated by Antonin Artaud and transformed into aesthetics by the playwrights of the 1950s, means not only the necessity of the shock effect of the new theatre in order to make a real connection with the audience, as it often appears in literary criticism, but also understanding theatre as the theatre of life, as an essential form of knowledge.

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