Theatre and the double : revolutionary consciousness in Baraka and Artaud

Amiri Baraka (1934- ) and Antonin Artaud (1896-1948) both believed in the power of the theatre to effect revolutionarychanges in human consciousness. Both artists advocated a theatre that would assault the spectators and awaken them to the need for change in their lives. In addition, they both espoused the concept of total theatre—a theatre in which all the arts would be used to draw the spectators into a lifechanging experience. However, while Artaud stressed the metaphysical aspects of the theatre, Baraka placed great emphasis on the theatre as a political weapon, insisting that it function as a tool for liberating blacks and all oppressed peoples of the world.

While the overall shared concept of theatre reform has made Baraka and Artaud literary kin, the metaphysical-versuspolitical function of the theatre inevitably has placed them on divergent paths. Hence, even though Baraka drew heavily from Artaud's concept of total theatre, ultimately, he had to transform elements of the Artaudian poetics to suit his need for a politicized theatre.

Examination of Baraka's dramatic theories and works in relation to the aesthetics of his European progenitor will afford an insightful appreciation of his innovative techniques and his brilliant accomplishment in the dramatic arts. The historical-cum-aesthetic method of literary inquiry will help in chronicling the points of convergence and divergence between the two artists, and at the same time, establish the nature of the revolutionary consciousness that they have passed on through their work in the theatre.