Roger Vitrac
Encyclopedia
Roger Vitrac was a French surrealist
playwright and poet.
Born in Pinsac
, Roger Vitrac moved to Paris in 1910. As a young man, he was influenced by symbolism and the writings of Lautréamont and Alfred Jarry
, and he developed a passion for theatre and poetry. A year after his baccalauréat, he published a collection of poems, Le Faune noir.
During his three year long military service, he met Marcel Arland
, François Baron, Georges Limbour
and René Crevel
, who together founded the literary revue, Aventure. Through the group, Vitrac met André Breton
and Louis Aragon
at Café Certa in 1921, where many Dada
activities took place until it became one of the surrealist
group's headquarters. In the early twenties, Vitrac joined the surrealist movement and contributed to the first few editions of La Révolution Surréaliste
. Slowly segregated from the group along with Antonin Artaud
, together they created the Théatre Alfred-Jarry in 1926, where they produced some of their most important plays such as The Mysteries of Love (Les Mystères de l'amour, 1927) and Victor, or Power to the Children (Victor ou les enfants au pouvoir, 1928), setting the tone for the Theatre of the Absurd
, twenty years before Ionesco. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre describes The Mysteries of Love as a masterpiece of surrealist theatre. It is now considered a key play in 20th-century French theatre.
Vitrac joined Georges Bataille
as one of the signaturies of Un Cadavre
against Breton
and contributed to Documents with articles on "Gaston-Louis Roux" (1929, issue 7), "The Abduction of the Sabines" (1930, issue 6) and a poem, "Humorage to Picasso" (1930, issue 3), dedicated to the artist. From 1931, he worked as a journalist while further exploring burlesque style playwriting, which often operated between boulevard comedy and intimate tragedy. His multi-thematic Coup de Trafalgar (1934) and Les Demoiselles du large (1938) gained as little recognition as his more slapstick plays such Le Loup-Garou (1939) and Le Sabre de mon père (1951).
Only after his death did Vitrac reached popular stardom status with Jean Anouilh
's 1962 production of Victor, or Power to the Children.
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
playwright and poet.
Born in Pinsac
Pinsac
Pinsac is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France....
, Roger Vitrac moved to Paris in 1910. As a young man, he was influenced by symbolism and the writings of Lautréamont and Alfred Jarry
Alfred Jarry
Alfred Jarry was a French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France, not far from the border of Brittany; he was of Breton descent on his mother's side....
, and he developed a passion for theatre and poetry. A year after his baccalauréat, he published a collection of poems, Le Faune noir.
During his three year long military service, he met Marcel Arland
Marcel Arland
Marcel Arland , was a French novelist, literary critic, and journalist.-Life:...
, François Baron, Georges Limbour
Georges Limbour
Georges Limbour was a French writer of prose and poetry.He was a member of the Surrealist Movement in Paris during the 1920s, but was expelled in 1929. Before his association with André Breton and the Surrealists, Limbour co-edited, along with Roger Vitrac and René Crevel, the avant-garde review...
and René Crevel
René Crevel
René Crevel was a French writer involved with the surrealist movement.-Life:Crevel was born in Paris to a family of Parisian bourgeoisie. He had a traumatic religious upbringing. At the age of fourteen, during a difficult stage of his life, his father committed suicide by hanging himself. Crevel...
, who together founded the literary revue, Aventure. Through the group, Vitrac met André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
and Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
at Café Certa in 1921, where many Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
activities took place until it became one of the surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
group's headquarters. In the early twenties, Vitrac joined the surrealist movement and contributed to the first few editions of La Révolution Surréaliste
La Révolution surréaliste
La Révolution surréaliste was a publication by the Surrealists in Paris. Twelve issues were published between 1924 and 1929....
. Slowly segregated from the group along with Antonin Artaud
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
, together they created the Théatre Alfred-Jarry in 1926, where they produced some of their most important plays such as The Mysteries of Love (Les Mystères de l'amour, 1927) and Victor, or Power to the Children (Victor ou les enfants au pouvoir, 1928), setting the tone for the Theatre of the Absurd
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
, twenty years before Ionesco. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre describes The Mysteries of Love as a masterpiece of surrealist theatre. It is now considered a key play in 20th-century French theatre.
Vitrac joined Georges Bataille
Georges Bataille
Georges Bataille was a French writer. His multifaceted work is linked to the domains of literature, anthropology, philosophy, economy, sociology and history of art...
as one of the signaturies of Un Cadavre
Un Cadavre
Un Cadavre was the name of two separate surrealist pamphlets published in France in October of 1924, and January of 1930, respectively.-Pamphlet of October 18th, 1924:...
against Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
and contributed to Documents with articles on "Gaston-Louis Roux" (1929, issue 7), "The Abduction of the Sabines" (1930, issue 6) and a poem, "Humorage to Picasso" (1930, issue 3), dedicated to the artist. From 1931, he worked as a journalist while further exploring burlesque style playwriting, which often operated between boulevard comedy and intimate tragedy. His multi-thematic Coup de Trafalgar (1934) and Les Demoiselles du large (1938) gained as little recognition as his more slapstick plays such Le Loup-Garou (1939) and Le Sabre de mon père (1951).
Only after his death did Vitrac reached popular stardom status with Jean Anouilh
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1943 play Antigone, an adaptation of Sophocles' Classical drama, that was seen as an attack on Marshal Pétain's...
's 1962 production of Victor, or Power to the Children.