Ludics in Surrealist Theatre and Beyond

by Vassiliki Rapti

Overview

Taking as its point of departure the complex question about whether Surrealist theatre exists, this book re-examines the much misunderstood artistic medium of theatre within Surrealism, especially when compared to poetry and painting. This study reconsiders Surrealist theatre specifically from the perspective of ludics-a poetics of play and games-an ideal approach to the Surrealists, whose games blur the boundaries between the 'playful' and the 'serious.' Vassiliki Rapti's aims are threefold: first, to demystify André Breton's controversial attitude toward theatre; second, to do justice to Surrealist theatre, by highlighting the unique character that derives from its inherent element of play; and finally, to trace the impact of Surrealist theatre in areas far beyond its generally acknowledged influence on the Theatre of the Absurd-an impact being felt even on the contemporary world'stage. Beginning with the Surrealists' 'one-into-another' game and its illustration of Breton's ludic dramatic theory, Rapti then examines the traces of this kind of game in the works of a wide variety of Surrealist and Post-Surrealist playwrights and stage directors, from several different countries, and from the 1920s to the present: Roger Vitrac, Antonin Artaud, Günter Berghaus, Nanos Valaoritis, Robert Wilson, and Megan Terry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138268722
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	02/27/2017
Series:	Studies in Surrealism
Pages:	210
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Vassiliki Rapti is Preceptor in Modern Greek in the Department of The Classics at Harvard University, USA, where she is also serving as Research Fellow in Greek Literature and Language Pedagogy at the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies (Washington, DC).

Table of Contents

Introduction: Does Surrealist Theatre Exist?; Chapter 1 The Surrealist Game “One into Another” in Nadja and Les Détraquées. Reconstructing André Breton’s Ludic Dramatic Theory; Chapter 2 Staging “Mad love” in the Théâtre Alfred Jarry: Breton’s Ludic Dramatic Theory in Practice; Chapter 3; Chapter 4 Playing with language: Antonin Artaud’s paidia and Robert Wilson’s ludus; Chapter 5 Ludics in Megan Terry’s “theatre of transformations”; conclu Conclusion;

Editorial Reviews

'Rapti (classics, Harvard) offers a dense, erudite argument that surrealist drama is not mimetic but methectic ... Summing Up: Recommended.' Choice

’... reintroduces the reader to work of playwrights with whom scholars and readers of surrealism are not necessarily familiar ... demonstrates that the appeal of surrealist ludics is indeed universal and therefore exceeds all cultural boundaries.’ Comparative Drama

From the Publisher