Theatre of the Grotesque
It is the English translation of the word grottesche (meaning unnatural or strange) and was coined to designate certain paintings uncovered in the fifteenth century from Roman times.
[6] This avant-garde nature, and emphasis on the unusual mirrors that of 'Theatre of the Grotesque', leading scholars to link the emergence of this theatrical style to the existence of Crepuscular poetry.
[5] The French records of sixteenth-century Italian farces, for example, were clarified as 'Theatre of the Grotesque', as was the dramatic work of prominent literary figure Victor Hugo.
[7] Its rejection of theatrical and social conventions, and reliance on external influences, such as audience response and reception, means that a stringent definition is difficult to develop.
[8] This joining of contradictory concepts encourages a fragmented world view which normalises the horrifying and the ludicrous in place of what is socially accepted.
[2] A method of defining 'Theatre of the Grotesque' that, conversely to those mentioned above, does not rely on conventions and content, is that proposed by Ralf Remshardt in his book Staging the Savage God.
[10] Both Dürrenmatt's academic and dramatic work centred around the conceptual basis of Theatre of the Grotesque and he is considered the greatest modern theorist in this realm.
[11] Despite Bakhtin not contributing directly to Theatre of the Grotesque, his philosophical and academic works on the concept have helped to define and give recognition to the style.
[11] The Mask and the Face or La Maschera E Il Volto is a comedy of the Grotesque genre written by Italian dramatist Luigi Chiarelli in 1913.
[5] The play fuses tragedy with comedy when the protagonist Count Paolo Grazia discovers his wife to be an adulteress after vowing to his friends that he would kill her if she was ever unfaithful, leaving him honour-bound to murder.
[5] Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play written by Luigi Pirandello in 1921 as a reaction against the prevalence of naturalistic drama in Italian theatre.
[5] Initially conceived as a novel, it is a metatheatrical play that explores the relationship between authors, their characters, and theatre practitioners that premiered in Rome in 1921 to mixed reviews.
[5] Following the initial outrage, Six Characters... has been produced to critical acclaim and popular success, transferring to Broadway in 1922 and being adapted into an opera in 1959 and several films, the most notable of which was released in 1964.
[9] Written in 1918 by Italian playwright Enrico Cavacchioli, The Bird of Paradise is a Theatre of the Grotesque play which is credited with completing the emergence phase of the style.
[14] Marionettes, What Passion!, a Grotesque play by Italian playwright and journalist Rosso di San Secondo, premiered in 1917 to great popularity and success.
[3] The play's plot questions the certainties of life by following three characters that are unable to make sense of their lives and are, eventually revealed to be puppets.
[16] Both styles utilise humour to promote audience detachment from the conventional, a response which was not widely sought after prior to Theatre of the Grotesque's rise.
[3] There are few notable contemporary works which classify purely as Theatre of the Grotesque; however, its influence can be denoted by the frequent incorporation of its conventions into other theatrical styles and art forms.
[18] Film's such as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) and Reservoir Dogs (1992) were examples of this style which received cult status after their positive critical and popular reception.
[18] Such works inspired the expansion of and continual engagement with the genre, cementing Theatre of the Grotesque's presence in contemporary drama and film.
