Antonin Artaud

Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who is widely recognized as a major figure of the European avant-garde. He worked across a variety of media, but is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. He had a profound influence on twentieth-century theatre through his conceptualization of the Theatre of Cruelty. Known for his raw, surreal and transgressive work, his texts explored themes from the cosmologies of ancient cultures, philosophy, the occult, mysticism and indigenous Mexican and Balinese practices.

4 September 1896

Born on the same birth day (4 September): Aaron Fultz • Beyoncé • Charles A. Hines • Danny Gatton • Darryl Cotton • Drew Pinsky • Hamish McIntosh • Jennie Lee (American actress) • John DiMaggio • Kosuke Matsuura • Richard Speight Jr. • Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow • Wesley Blake • William Lyons • Yanka Dyagileva

Born in the same month (September 1896): A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada • Adele Astaire • F. Scott Fitzgerald • Gilbert Ashton • Henry Segrave • Howard Dietz • José Mojica • Robert Taschereau • Sam Ervin • Sandro Pertini • Uri Zvi Greenberg • Ye Ting