Roger Vitrac (; 17 November 1899 – 22 January 1952) was a French
surrealist
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
playwright and poet.
Early life
Roger Vitrac was born in
Pinsac on 17 November 1899, before his family moved to Paris in 1910.
:527 As a young man, he was influenced by the period's theatre and poetry, in particular the works of
Lautréamont and
Alfred Jarry
Alfred Jarry (; ; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French Artistic symbol, symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896)'','' often cited as a forerunner of the Dada, Surrealism, Surrealist, and Futurism, Futurist ...
.
:527 In the late 1920s he married
Kitty Cannell, a dancer and actress who performed at the
Provincetown Playhouse
The Provincetown Playhouse is a historic theatre at 133 MacDougal Street between West 3rd and 4th streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is named for the Provincetown Players, who converted the forme ...
.
:265
Career
In 1919 he published his first collection of poems, ''Le Faune noir''. In 1920 he began his obligatory three-year military service.
:527 While serving, he was introduced to Dadaist performances in Paris and became interested in the movement. He even 'took to distributing Dada manifestos in the barracks'.
:358 He also 'presented a play in Dadaistic character' entitled ''La Fenêtre Vorace,'' which has since been lost.
:358 It was during this time that he met
Marcel Arland
Marcel Arland (5 July 1899, Varennes-sur-Amance, Haute-Marne – 12 January 1986, Haute-Marne) was a French novelist, literary critic, and journalist.
Biography
With René Crevel and Roger Vitrac he founded the dadaist newspaper ''Aventu ...
,
François Baron,
Georges Limbour and
René Crevel, and founded the literary revue, ''
Aventure''.
:527In 1921, Vitrac met
André Breton
André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
and
Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon (; 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...
at the
Café Certa, which was one of the headquarters for
Dada
Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
, and later
Surrealist
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
, activities. That same year, he attended the Dadaist Excursion to the Church of
Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre and become formally associated with the Dadaists.
He would continue to develop this network as a founding member of the Surrealist movement and one of the signatories of Breton's
First Surrealist Manifesto (1924). He was expelled from the movement in 1925 for his pursuit of the theatre, among other infractions.
:527
Theater Alfred Jarry
In 1926, Vitrac founded the
Théatre Alfred-Jarry with
Robert Aron
Robert Aron (; ; 25 May 1898 – 19 April 1975) was a French historian and writer who wrote several books on politics and European history.
Early life and career
Robert Aron was born in Le Vésinet on 25 May 1898 to an upper-class Jewish family f ...
and
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...
(who was also expelled from the Surrealist movement).
It was here that Vitrac premiered his plays, ''Les Mystères de l'amour''
'The Mysteries of Love''(1927), as well as his best known work ''Victor ou les enfants au pouvoir''
'Victor, or Power to the Children''1928).
Later works
Vitrac joined
Georges Bataille
Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 8 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...
as one of the signatories of ''
Un Cadavre'' against
Breton and contributed to ''
Documents
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes a "teaching" or "lesson": ...
'' 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 as ''Le Loup-Garou'' (1939) and ''
Le Sabre de mon père'' (1951).
In January 1937, Vitrac become Secretary General of the newly established ''Confédération des Syndicats Professionels Française'' (CSPF), a workers' union that claimed to be 'purely professional' and 'free of any political affiliation.'
:212-213
Death
Vitrac died in Paris on 22 January 1952.
:527
Legacy
Only after his death did Vitrac reach popular stardom with
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...
's 1962 production of ''Victor, or Power to the Children''. Though it was written after Vitrac was expelled from Surrealist movement, ''Victor'' is often viewed as the key masterpiece of surrealist theatre,
:94
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitrac, Roger
1899 births
1952 deaths
People from Lot (department)
20th-century French dramatists and playwrights
French surrealist writers
Surrealist dramatists and playwrights
Modernist theatre