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On Hamletmachine: Mller and the Shadow of ArtaudAuthor(s): Jonathan KalbSource: New German Critique, No. 73, Special Issue on Heiner Muller (Winter, 1998), pp. 47-66Published by: New German CritiqueStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/488648.

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OnHamletmachine:Miiller nd the hadowofArtaud

JonathanalbAt a 1987colloquiumt theFreieUniversittitnWestBerlin, einerMilllerwas asked o name he uthorsther hanBrecht homhe con-sidered ignificantnfluences. is politeresponse "I'm sorry, uthavefew nfluences" drew irst laugh ndthen mbarrassedilencefrom heaudience fmostly rofessorsndgraduatetudents.learly,many oundt difficulto takehim thisword, uthewas speakinghe

literal ruth. side from recht,MUillerad no literaryfathers."heremainderf hismassive ndvirtuosicallyielded tockpilefsourceswas drawn rompiritualbrethren"ithwhomhemomentarilyffili-atedhimselfndthen iscarded annihilated,s itwere,ike henumer-ous warringrothersnhisnarratives.e used and citedthem artlybecause heywere,nanessential,haracter-buildingense, eadtohim;foronly hen ouldthey erve s thesort fwhimsically anipulableghosts ismatureexts equired.s heoncetoldSylvere otringer:Toknow the ead],youhaveto eatthem. ndthen ouspit utthe ivingparticles...Readings]an absoluteuxury.atingiteraturesfaster."II know fno exceptionothiswhimsicalttitude,o ghostlyiteraryfigure homMtillereallyread" atherhan ate" after he1970s, venthoughhebodyofpublishedriticismnhim uggestshatmany uchexceptionsxistede.g., Shakespeare,leist,Wagner,Genet,Beckett,Kafka) ndthatAntonin rtaud as among hemostmportant.earlyevery issertationndbook-lengthtudy n Mtillerontains separate1. HeinerMiuller,Wars" interviewith ylvere otringer),n Germania,d.Sylvere otringer,rans. ernardndCaroline chiitzeNY: Semiotext(e),990)67,71.

47

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48 The ShadowofArtaudsection,fnot n entirehapter,ummarizingrtaud'sheoriesndestab-lishingffinitiesetween he wowritershat re then eld o be funda-mental.o mentionnly few: ue-Ellen asespeaks fMfiller'stheaterofterrorism"n Macbethndother orkss a variationntheTheaterfCruelty.2ichard erzingerriteshat Miller eizes on Artaud'son-cepts norder o link hemwith oliticalontent;e refershem ohis-tory."3or KlausTeichmann,rtaud's relevance"oMiller ies inthe"confirmation"Beschworung]f a particularotionfhuman aturehatplaces "equal emphasis"n subjectivityndresistanceo "mediationyrepresentation.'"4. M. Raddatz sesArtaudo describeheproblematized"subject"nMtiller'smage fhistory.5llthese heses ave omemerit,and wouldnot rguepecificallyithny fthem. hats ust he oint.To add tothemwould nly dd totheir laims ofundamentality,hichmisrepresenthefacetiouspiritnwhichMillerengagednliteraryor-rowingndmade seof heArtaudianraditionsa game.EvenEdward cheer,uthor f themost ophisticatedndambitiousstudyftheArtaud-Mtilleronnectiono date whichwisely itesHam-letmachines itsmainevidencendchastisesMUillert onepoint or"bypass[ing] he humourn Artaud'smetaphysicaltatements"6-ignoreshedangerfmistaking illler's alse imbs or ealones, on-struingiseating f iteratures reading.cheerwrites:we canread nthe ext fHamletmachineomethingftheimplacable ecessity'ftheTheatrefCruelty,ot ts chievementrembodiment,ut he ontinua-tion fthe rc of tsaestheticrajectoryndthe hematicelaunchingfitsessentialtructure."7Implacable ecessity"side,MUillers no moreinterestedn"relaunching"nytheoreticaltructurefArtaud's han eis inadvocatingnyparticulardeology. ndthereasonHamletmachineis probablyhecentral extnhis oeuvre s that,when eenagainsttsArtaudiannderpinnings,t demonstratesetterhan nyother ext he

2. Sue-Ellen ase,DevelopmentsnPost-BrechtianoliticalTheater: hePlaysofHeinerMiller,UniversityfCalifornia,erkeley,issertation,981.3. Richard erzinger, asken er Lebensrevolution:italistischeivilisations-undHumanismuskritiknTexten einerMillers Munich:Wilhelm ink, 992),75. Alltranslationsnthis rticleremine nless therwiseoted.4. Klaus Teichmann, er verwundeteKorper:zu TextenHeinerMiillers(Freiburg:urg, 989),179.5. Frank-Michaeladdatz, dmonen ntermoten tern: u Geschichtsphiloso-phieundAsthetikeinerMillers Stuttgart:etzler,991)42.6. Edward cheer, 'Under heSun ofTorture' A NewAestheticfCruelty:Artaud,Wilson ndMtiller,"nHeinerMiiller: onTEXTSndHISTORY, 11n.7.7. Scheer,'Under he unofTorture"'02.


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Jonathanalb 49tactical ergiversationndmisdirection,he half-serioushadowboxingwith iteraryorebears,hathelpedestablish imas an internationalavant-gardetar ndwashismainwriterlytrategyromhe1970s n.The following lose analysisof Hamletmachineoncentratesri-marilyn one Artaudiandea:the radicationf dramaticiterature,rratherhedisplacementf dramaby its meansof enactment,heater.Mosttheaterractitionershohave aken his rench heoristnd direc-tor eriouslyavetreatedhis dea as central. nlike eter rook,JerzyGrotowskind otherswhoexperimentedithpractical pplicationfArtaudianheory, owever,8 einerMiillerwas an author,nd theapparentaradox fthis, f an author roducingramas hatmapthefailure fdrama o takeplace, s partly result fhisnottakingheArtaudianraditionully eriously.his seemsto me thepointmostdeservingfscrutiny.nlike theruthorsuch s Beckett, iUlleradno credoof reductionrrenunciationnthenameof whichhe soughtincreasinglyfficientndattenuatedorms.n the ontrary,hedeath fdrama,ikethedeath f theAuthor, asa mythohim, double-edgedfiction hoseambiguityndpower verothers e tried oharness nhisbehalfnthe amewayhe coolly xploitedtalinistiolence, astGermanolitics,eutonicmyth,ndmuch lse, s "material."9From tsfirstppearancen 1977,Hamletmachine,hich ontains nestagedirectionallingfor hetearingf the author's hotograph,asregardeds a momentfcrisisnMUiller'sareer, reactionecouldnothave tage-managedore ittinglyor ispurposes.hetitle,ornstance,aroseas a referenceo the mechanizedrtfactoryfAndyWarhol,whomMUilleruotes nthework"I want o be a machine"),nd tothe"Bachelor-Machine"f MarcelDuchamp.loThatwas thennterpreted:8. This s thepostwarvant-gardeontextorMiiller escribedyJoachimie-bach n nselnderUnordnung:unfVersucheu HeinerMillersTheatertextenBerlin:Henschel, 990), rdVersuch.9. Thiswordrecurs requentlynMilller's utobiographyriegohne Schlacht(Cologne:Kiepenheuer Witsch, 992;rev.1994).A typicaltatement:thepoliticalcontentinDie UmsiedlerinTheResettler,961)]wasnothing ore hanmaterial."161-2] Ina 1979discussionfpostmodernismnNewYork,Milllertated:Thegreatextsfthe entury ork owardhe iquidationftheirutonomy.. thedisappearancef theauthor."[Miiller, otwelschBerlin:Merve, 982)97] Thosewhohaverushed oquotethis tatements an ndicationfhis rue ndfirmositionn thematter,owever, oulddo well oconsulthis eferenceo t nhis1987 nterviewith ndr6Milller:I probablysaidthat ecause he ubject idn'tnterest e .. The eventwasa means ormetogetfreeripoNewYork" Germania03).10. Miller,Krieg hne chlacht95.


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50 The hadow fArtaudHamletMachineH.M.= HeinerMiiller. hisreading circulated ithcare," aid the uthorn 1982.11 imilarly,hile arlynterviewsefertoHamletmachines an mportantndpointnhiscareer

FromTheScab [DerLohndriicker,isfirstlay] o Hamletmachineeverythingsone tory,slow rocessf eduction.ithmyast layHamletmachinehat's ome o an end.No substanceor ialogueexistsnymoreecauseheresnomore istory.1978)12later ommentsxpress ontemptor nybiographicalnterpretation

of thetext s a chroniclefauthenticmergency.If youwant,youcould say that 'm always n crisis, 've alwaysbeen in crisis. Ornever," e warnedn 1989. Andparts fHamletmachinerequite ld.Partsrefromhe1950s ... There snever chronology,chronologicalorder,nthework.13Thesewarnings otwithstanding,t is obvious hatHamletmachine,thenine-page esidua f a 200-pageHamlet ranslationrepared ordirectorennoBesson n 1976, eferso the dea of dentityrisis.Andtodaywe canhardlygnore hat ts senseof authenticrisishashelpedmake tone ofMUiller's ost requentlytaged ndanalyzedworks. thasacquired otonly substantialiteraryeputationut lsonotorietyas a sort fdramaticracticaloke: a playscriptonceived or open"use bythosewho don'tbelieve n theviabilityfplaysanymore,swellas a metaphoricalxaminationfthe risis f theMarxistntellec-tualwrittenyanintellectualhowishestknownhat emaybe nei-therMarxist orncrisis.Hamletmachineeemsto have beendeliberatelyonceived o causebewildermentmong hose nterestednthe axonomyfdramaticiter-ature.Divided nto five sections ike a Shakespeare lay, t consistslargelyf ongmonologuesy speakersffluid rmultipledentity,tsfewstagedirectionsnddialogue assagesofferingittle uidance orstaging r interpretinghesuggestedtructuralonnectiono Hamlet.Packedwith uotationsndparaphrasesrom liot,Cummings,I1lder-lin,Marx,Benjamin, rtaud, artre,Warhol, hakespeare,heBible,Mtiller imself,nd others,ften trung ogether ithoutonnecting

11. Miiller, esammelterrtiimer:nterviewsndGespracheFrankfurt/Main:er-lagderAutoren,986)115.12. MUiller,esammelterrtiimer4.13. Jonathanalb,FreeAdmissions: ollected heaterWritingsNY: Limelight,1993)83.


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Jonathan alb 51text,Hamletmachineacitly enouncestylebut neverthelesscquiressomethingike a styledue to the humor nd intelligenceithwhichMilller pplies hequotationsnd moldsShakespeare'sharactersndother orrowedigureso hispurposes.t is densewith ronyndpos-turing etneverthelessathers sort fsinceritynthecourse fpro-testingoomuch boutts nsincerity.Uiller:

For hirtyears amlet asa real bsessionorme, o I tried odestroyim ywritingshortext, amletmachine.ermanistorywas notherbsessionnd triedodestroyhis bsession,hiswholecomplex.thinkhemainmpulsesto triphingso heirkeleton,orid hemf heirleshnd urface.hen ou re inishedithhem.14

This act of reductionas anattemptosmash toocompellingcon,but ike so many cts of itskind, t only generated new icon,theHamlet estroyer,rapping tillernyet nothernfernalircle.Uniqueandstranges it s,evenHamletmachineannot uite hakefree f tsroots n certain raditions among hemRomanticlosetdrama,withits mpracticaltagedirectionsnd centralgos split ntovarious har-acters and thegeneral astern uropean endencyseen in writersfromWitkiewiczo Kohout ndHavel)to use Hamlet s a symbol orthemodernntellectual'srevarications,esitations,nd rationaliza-tionsnthefaceoftyrannynd terror.here realso two famousGer-man nterpretationsfShakespeareowhichMtiller as reacting,othof whichtreatHamlet s a typeand his dilemma s a syndrome:Brecht's,whichviewsthecharacters "an idealistwho becomesacynic," ndNietzsche's, hich iewshim s "loath o act" becauseofanexcess f understanding,"a surplusfpossibilities."15It is Hamletmachine'sery adenness,ts sheerreferentialensity,thatmakes t such n interestingase inthehistoryfattemptsobreakdownwhatArtaudalled"theformalcreen" hatiterary asterpieces"interpose"etween rtistsndthepublic.16 Uilleresists uch idola-try" otbyremovingeveredbjectsArtaud's isplacementf dramaby theater) utby accumulatingndmagnifyinghem.This was his14. MUiller,otwelsch3.15. Brecht's ommentsre from is ournal ntryorDecember 1,1940:Arbe-

itsjournal 938-1955:Vol.1, ed. WernerHecht Frankfurt/Main:uhrkamp,973).Nietzsche'srefrom heBirthfTragedy,rans. rancis olffingGarden ity: ouble-day,1956)51.16. Antonin rtaud, he TheaterndItsDouble, rans.MaryCarolineRichards(NY: Grove, 958)76.


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52 The hadow fArtaudhypertrophiedeans fseekingdifference"romdols, s he later utit nanessaycalled ShakespeareDifference."rtaud's emarksna1935 etteroAndr6 ide lsoapply oMiiller:

A characterays word nderhempressionhat notherordwillcome longnddestroytand,bove ll,underhempressionf nidealtmospherehat istortstwhileocusingn t t heameime....I destroyhedea romear hatespectorhedeawill nly esultncreatingform,hichn ts urn,avorsheontinuancef ad deas.17Havingno interestnpurifyingimselfnpreparationor ny holyriteArtaud's idealatmosphere"),iiller ses sarcasmnd seriocomicponderousnessoproduce et notherf his numerousopsy-turvyer-fremdungseffekteinthis ase onecompatible ith oth ogical hink-ingandsurrealist anifestationsfthemarvelous.t's as ifhe buildstrap orhimselfnd thenwalks nto t,violatingheBrechtianuprem-acyof reason nd dialecticso that thers ouldwatch hose actorseinhim nanyways he indulged is nterestnpolitics ndexercised isferventlyatiocinativeind.A commentf Alfred arry'sn theepi-

graphoUbuEnchaind inpointshedilemma: We shallnothave suc-ceeded ndemolishingverythingnlesswedemolish heruins s well.But theonlyway can see ofdoing hat s to use them oputup a lotof fine,well-designeduildings."'Hamletmachine'sointof depar-turesrecognitionf his uintessentialvant-gardistmpasse.Thefirstection,ntitledFAMILYALBUM,"begins: I was Ham-let. stood nthe oast nd talkedwith he urf LABLA,atmybacktheruins fEurope."19incenospeakers indicated,he dentityfthe"I" is an active uestionvenbeforehememoriesivemeaningothesection itle. ituatedn an apocalypticuture,hespeaker mplieshehas renounced family raditionnd will recounthis processofrenunciations ifflippinghroughnalbum.What amily?Which radi-tion?The Hamlet eferenceas well as theself-quoteromMUiller'sone-paragraphssayon Artaud,lso writtenn 1977- "Read on theruins fEuropehistextswillbe classic"20)uggests, ithNietzschean

17. Artaud,LetteroAndr6 ide,10Feb.1935,"TDR 54 June 972)92-93.18. Alfred arry,he UbuPlays, d. and rans. imonWatson aylor NY: Grove,1968)106.19. MUiller, auser Berlin:Rotbuch, 978),89. Subsequent age referencesoHamletmachineregivennparenthesis.20. Mtiller,otwelsch69.


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Jonathanalb 53boldness,hat ll ofEuropeanultures inquestionas it s inmost fMiiller's ther orks romhis oint n).The"I" who was Hamlet ontinues ith dreamlike,ast-tensear-rative bouthis father'state uneral a passage hatwouldhavebeenpolitically rovocativen 1977 East Germanyvenwithoutts overtpolitical ontent ecause temploysheofficiallyeprecatedanguageofsurrealism.(Miiller aidthe cenewas inspired ythe ase of LaszloRajk,a Hungarian oreignministerxecuted or reasonn 1952and,four ears ater, ehabilitatedndgiven state uneral.) oosesteppingcouncillorsnd"murdererndwidow couple" ttendheprocessionfor his importantadaver" nd"GREAT GIVER OF ALMS." Sud-denlyHamlet riesopenthecoffin ithhissword,which reaks,nduses "thedull remnant"odispense iecesofthecorpse, lms-like,othe crowd.Thusfigurativelymasculated hileattemptingo nourishthemasseswithhis "deadprocreator['s]"emains, e oins inhis ownhumiliationyshoutingSHOULD I HELP YOU UP UNCLE OPENYOUR LEGS MAMA" as themurderer ounts hewidowatoptheempty offin89). Whenthe narrative'sense hanges o thepresentandthe I" speaks nsolentlyotheGhost, verythingrecedingeadsas backgroundo his rebellion gainstHamlet's traditionalole asrevenger:What oyouwant romme .. Old mooch.As ifyouhaveno bloodonyourhoes.What'syour orpse ome"(90).Thisrebellionmmediatelyaises question,owever. inceShakes-peare'sHamlets not imply straightforwardevengerutratherhesi-tant evenger,owhas thespeaker ruly epartedromradition?ikemany therons nMUiller,he I" hastroublereakingree rom pater-nalheritagehatupportsviolenttatus-quoocio-politicaltructure.aterparts f the extwill uggesthat amlet's atherenerallyepresentsis-toryeen s drama, istoryiewed s coerciveecausetorganizesventsteleologicallyike dramaticcript.Indeed,he athernduncle reeven-tuallyuseds "Claudius/Hamlet'sather,"enderinghe uestionf egiti-macy rrelevant.)scaping hemental oldof suchscriptss farmoredifficulthan imply erceivingheiroerciveness,ndMiiller'sHamlet,likeNietzsche's,sdisgustedyhis nanitionn he ace funderstanding.

The ruthnce een,manHamlet]s awareverywheref he hastlyabsurdityf xistence,omprehendsheymbolismfOphelia'satendthewisdomf hewoodpriteilenus:auseanvadesim.Nietzsche)2121. Nietzsche,heBirthfTragedy1-52.


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54 The hadow fArtaud... I amAprivilegedanMynauseaIs aprivilegeGuarded ithWallBarbed ire risonMtiller'samletctor)96)

UnlikeNietzsche's amlet, owever, uiller'sespondso hiscondi-tion, t east tfirst,y makingerversentellectualokes.Hishumorsless subtle han hat fShakespeare's amlet, r that fthepassage'sother elf-mockinghost-figure,ntoineRoquentinn Sartre'sLanaus&e a disenchantedistorian.hisHamlet'sokesaretypifiedyhis self-designationSECOND CLOWN IN THE COMMUNISTSPRINGTIME" 89) andbythefollowingineswhichmixNietzsche'sgravewisdom f Silenus"Ephemeral retch... Whatwouldbe bestforyou is . . . not to have been born,not to be, to be nothing"22) ithHamlet's egretn Shakespeare"Thetime s out of oint; O cursedspite,/Thatver was born oset tright"I,v,189-90]),educingll toa series f sinineuips.Hereomeshe hosthat ademe,xe tillnhis kull. oucankeepyour at n, know ouhave nehole oomany.wishmymotherhadhad ne oofewwhen ouwerenflesh:would'veeenparedmyself.heyhouldew hewomenp, world ithoutothers.90)

Thishumormaynotwinthe I" sympathyraffection,ut tdoescastdoubt nthe iteralmeaningfeverythinge hassaid or willsay.Per-haps,fornstance,e is not ememberingnanapocalypticuturetall,butrathermagininghat ircumstancefrememberingt a desk nEastGermany hisimpulsesoward olitical ebellionhannelednto elf-aggrandizingiteraryonceits or he mpteenthime.Mtiller's I," likeHamlet,s everynch theaterman, ndeedhe islatercalled "HamletActor," nd section ne endswith pointedlytheatricalcenariowhosefirst ords re"Enter oratio," ot talicizedas a stagedirection.ere heHamletActor lays uthor-director.ora-tio,his "confidant,"s toldthere s "NO PLACE FOR YOU IN MYTRAGEDY" and asked fhe'd liketo playPolonius, whowants osleepwith isdaughter"(90).hen he cenariondswith first-personnarrationfHamlet aping ismother:Now tear hewedding ress.Nowyoumust cream.Now I smear he hreds fyourwedding ress22. Nietzsche,TheBirth fTragedy 9.


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Jonathanalb 55with he arth hatmyfatherasbecome"(91). violent,esoluteepar-ture romhecanonicalHamlet cript,t would eem, xcept hat t ishypothetical,maginary,virtualebellionarriedutwithmental up-pets.Eventhe losingine "letmeeatyour eart, phelia,which riesmytears" is an envious llusion o thedecidedlynhesitantverturn-ing f ocialordernanotherlay, ohn ord'sTisPity he'sa Whore.According o some commentators,23eriousdeterminationntersHamletmachine ithOphelia n the next ection,whosetitle, THEEUROPE OF WOMEN," ndicates hat heEuropean amilyraditionostensiblyhallengedn section ne will now be viewedbyfemales.(Miiller, iting imilar entimentsyLenin andothers, id say,a bitunenthusiastically,hatwomenwere more ikely ource fhistoricalrenewal hanmen: "movementtoward evolution]egins n thepro-vinces,nd woman s theprovincefman."24) quasi-historicalocaleis given,Enormous oom" the itle fe.e. cummings'sovel boutFrenchnterrogationenter uringWorldWar - andthenOphelia, rrather composite igure alled "Ophelia Chorus/Hamlet],"eliversthefollowing peech,which t first lancedoes seem to indicaterebellion ore bsolutendunflinchinglyiolenthan amlet's.I amOphelia.he ne he iver idn't old. hewomannthe opeThewoman ithhe rterieslit pen hewoman ith he verdoseSNOWONTHE LIPS Thewoman ith erheadnthegasoven.Yesterdaystopped illing yself.am alonewithmy reasts ythighs ywomb.demolishhe ools fmy mprisonmenthe hairthe able he ed. destroyhe attlefieldhat asmy ome. wrenchopen he oorso thathewind ancomenand he creamftheworld.shatterhewindow. ithmy loodyandstear pthe ho-

tographsf hemenwhomloved ndwho sedme n he ed n hetable nthe hair nthe round.setfireomy rison.throw yclothesn he ire.dig he lock hat asmy eartut fmy reastand o nto he treetlothednmy lood.91-92)But it is importantottomaketoo muchofthis peech'sapparentcoherencendstraightforwardness.or onething,t is no less stuffed23. See,for xample, rleneAkikoTeraoka, heSilence fEntropyr UniversalDiscourseNY,Berne, rankfurt/Main:eter ang,1985),Ch. II,andElizabethWright,Postmodernrecht: Re-PresentationLondon ndNY: Routledge,989)132.24. Miiller,rieg hne chlacht 95.Comparehis 981 omment:European oli-tics rhistorysbased na Fatherrinciple,paternalrinciple.seeAsiaasthe isingfthematernalrinciple"Rotwelsch3).


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56 The ShadowofArtaudwithquotationshan ection ne is: "The one theriver idn'thold,"besides ts mmediatepplicationo Shakespeare's phelia, s a refer-ence toRosa LuxemburgromGermania eath in Berlinwith choesof Eliot's"The Wasteland""Feardeath ywater. ."), and the inesbeginningThe woman n therope . ." are allusions oUlrikeMein-hofand IngeMiiller,heauthor's econdwife,fromGundling'sifeFrederickofPrussia Lessing Sleep Dream Scream and Obituary25all threextremelyroblematicasesofvictimization,he peech'suni-fyingdea.For anotherhing,hedesignationOphelia Chorus/Ham-let]" recallstheBrechtianehrstiickr "learning lay,"a constantobsession fMuiller'sn the1960s nd 1970s.Withtsutopian ision fpluralized ubjects individualharactersmergingrom nd disap-pearingnto horal pools," ctors haringoles theLehrstiickefer-encesuggestshatHamlet ndOpheliamaybe opposing spects fasingle reativeonsciousness,amepiecesorsoldiersna mental at-tlefield.n anycase, clear-cuteneralizationsboutthe female ebel-lionarehard omake fter pheliawillinglyeenters coffin,aked,withClaudius/Hamlet'sathern section hree ndMarx,Lenin, ndMao appear s nakedwomennsection our.Ophelia and the Hamlet Actor are certainly earers of clearlyopposed ttitudesndthemes, utthey realso victims fa commonidentityrisis and allies in a commonprojectto dismantle herepresentationalrame f that risis.That s whyArtauds such animportanthadowfigurenthe ext.GesturesikeOphelia'stearingfthe"photographsf themenwhom loved" andthesimilar tearingof thephotographf the author"n section our uggest hat cono-graphy,epresentationtself,s under ttack s much s anymale-orauthor-principle.acques erridawrites:

The heaterf rueltysnot representation.t s ifetself,n he xtenttowhichifesunrepresentable.. LikeNietzsche.. Artaud antsohave onewith he mitativeonceptf rt, ith heAristotelianes-theticsnwhichhemetaphysicsfWesternrt omesntots wn.26Ophelia'sextractionf theclock,whichhas been seen as a symbol(traceable o WalterBenjamin) f theage ofbourgeois roductivity,

25. Thesourcesre:MUiller,ermania od nBerlinBerlin: otbuch,977)78,32andMuiller,erzstiickBerlin: otbuch,983)34.26. Jacques errida,WritingndDifference,rans. lanBass (Chicago:U ofChi-cagoP, 1978)234.


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Jonathanalb 57mayalso be read in thiscontext s a critique f time timeas a"frame" or eality,ime eenteleologicallys an agent fchange ndredemptionhat everrrive.Thispoint bout he heaterfcruelty ust otbe overstatedecause,as alreadymentioned,tillers onlyhalf erious bout t.That heateris theboard,however,n whichhis Hamlet-games playedout. IfOphelia nd Hamlet re notviewed s agents ftherapeuticestructionandpainful sychic ealingnan Artaudianpirit,t is difficulto seehowthey ifferignificantlyrom he uthor-surrogatesfunapologetic-allyromantic orms uch as closetdrama nd monodrama and oneobviouspurpose fHamletmachines to resist reciselyhat ortofunquestionedgocentricity.he text's interruptiveajusculeversequotations,ornstance,fteneemto search utsidehe haractersorsome"irreversiblend absolute etermination"Artaud)27rior o theirfictionalontexts: I'M GOOD HAMLET GI'ME A CAUSE FORGRIEF/AH HE WHOLE GLOBE FOR A REALSORROW"89 - myitalics).Thatthis search s doomedto failure,f onlybecausethespeakerwhoever e or she is) never reaks reefrom uotations,sbesidethepoint.QuotingWarhol,he HamletActor ater ongsforsurrendero mechanizedoldness "I want o be a machine"96) - buthiswish s tingedwith egret,s ifanotherart f him onged orwarmhuman ontact.The shamanicwarming"igurefJoseph euys, nartistMtillerdmired,omesto mind.One ofBeuys' lastpieces,TheEnd of theTwentiethentury1983-85],was an attempt,n DonaldKuspit'swords, to wrap' AndyWarholn hiswarmth,hich ailed,becauseWarholwas irremediablyold- frozen, blackhole ofnoth-ingnessn whichverythingisappeared."28)The Artaudianbsessions,s well as theequivocationboutthem,continuen section hree,ntitledSCHERZO,"with differentocus.Consistinglmost ntirelyfstagedirections,hisbriefectionmpha-sizes visual and gestural anguages ver spoken anguage. RecallShakespeare's amlet's uminationn "words,words,words," s wellas his self-castigatingurse: Why,what an ass am I This is mostbrave,/That. . . Must, ike a whore, npackmyheartwithwords."

27. Artaud,heTheaternd tsDouble 101.My acknowledgmento NorbertttoEke forhissimilarbservationsn theseines n HeinerMidler:ApokalypsendUtopie(Paderborn,unich, ienna, urich: erdinandSch6ningh,989)99.28. DonaldKuspit,Joseph euys:TheBodyof theArtist,"rtforumSummer1991):85.


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58 The ShadowofArtaud[II,ii,611-14]) otwithstandingerrida's ointboutArtaud's esistanceto representationn general,othArtaud ndMillerexpress prefer-ence for one representativeode overanother, compromise ithmimesisach ustifiess the esser f two vils.Adoptionfan iconog-raphyhatmightnderminehedominionfwordslogos, hepatriarch-al order) s preferableo continuedcceptancef it or thetotalrelin-quishingf communication.nd thisnewvisual mphasis evelops hesexual ndpoliticalhemesfHamletmachine'sreviousections.

Universityfthedead.Whisperingndmuttering.rom heir rave-stonesfrontesks) he eadphilosophershrowheir ooks tHam-let.Gallery ballet) fthedead women. hewoman n the opeThewomanwith he rteries litopenetc.Hamlet egardshemwith heattitudef museumtheater)-goerhedead women earhisclothesoff isbody. rom n uprightoffin ithhe nscriptionAMLET1stepClaudius ndOphelia, ressed nd madeupas a whore. trip-teasebyOphelia.OPHELIA: oyouwant o atmy eart,amlet?aughs.HAMLET: ace nhishands.want obea woman.Hamlet utson Ophelia clothes;Opheliamakeshisface upas awhore... (92)

The throwingf booksreduces lassical ducation a trope or heEnlightenmentto crudeviolence, ndthe riches f culture repre-sented s objectifiedemalesthevictims romectionwo)whodemon-strate hebeginningsf active gencywhen hey tripHamlet.RecallOphelia: I shatterhewindow.")He, forhispart, nvies hewomentheir bjectstatus, aving pparentlyecomeoverburdenedithhisintenseubjectivity.gain,Miullers settingsupto believe hat new,matriarchalrder fpictorialominances about obeborn.ndeed,hedescribed icturesre intenselyompellingrom hesection's losingimagethebreast ancer n a Madonnawingingverheadradiatesikethesun" an allusion o Artaud's et fBlood)to thefinal ableaunwhich wheelchair-boundphelia,nthedeepsea,is silenced ymenwrapping er n gauze.Neither hat nuffingor the HamletActor'smalignantemarknsection our hat is"thoughtsuck hebloodoutofthe ictures,"owever,uggestssanguineutureor henew rder93).Theopposingorcesre, gain, tanimpasse,ndonlynsectionour,entitledPLAGUE [PEST] IN BUDA BATTLE FOR GREENLAND,"


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Jonathanalb 59do we geta sense ofMtiller's oint n assertingndreassertinghisstalemate.o be sure, his ection as ustas many alse imbs, alcu-lateddiversionsndcul de sacs as anyother.tpresents longscen-arioof rebellionytheHamletActor, or nstance"I am notHamlet.I'm notplaying roleanymore"93]), filled ut withnumerouspe-cifictime and place referencesto 1956Hungarynd other ivotalmomentsnCommunististory),utthis ebellion urns uttobe justas ambivalent,ypothetical,ndultimatelyutiles theone in sectionone."My place, fmydrama till ook lace,wouldbe onboth idesofthe ront,"esays, ddingater,Mydrama idn't ake lace" 94, 95).The crucial istinctionromhepreviousectionss inthe ntroduc-tion fa voice that laims obe the peaker-behind-the-other-speakersthereal author,hereal Marxist ntellectualfter talin,n a realisticquandarywhichharpenshe lay's motional ook.

I standn heweatymellf he rowdnd hrowockstpolicemensoldiersanksullet-prooflass. look hroughhe ullet-proof-glassfoldingoort he ressingrowdndmell ywn ervousweat.94)Miiller learly as no morefaithn thecoherencer stabilityf thisidentityhanhe does in thoseofHamlet, phelia, r anyother har-acter, utthisostensiblyewcentralpeaker oes sufferrom deep-eneddisgustndself-scrutinyhat hange hequality f the anguage.The borrowed tylisticonceits re replacedby simple,flat-footedmoaning or time"I don'twant oeat drink reatheovea womanmana child n animal nymore")ndthe nfernaloking easesas thevoiceworks tself p toa frenzyfself-loathinganotherrude eflec-tion fShakespeare,hoseHamlet eliverseveral elf-loathingolilo-quies).

Tearingf hehotographf heuthorI tearpenmy ealed lesh.wanto ivenmy eins,n hemarrowofmy ones,n heabyrinthfmykull.withdrawntomy ntrails.I takemy lacenmyhit, y lood. omewhereodies re rushedsothatcan ivenmyhit. omewhereodies redissectedo thatcanbealonewithmy lood.My houghtsrewoundsnmy rain. ybrainsa scar.96)Oneneedn't eny nyofthe alculatednessf thispassage Milleris punningndquotings much s ever theGermanwordformarrow[Mark],for nstance,lso means deutschemark nd trademark,nd


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60 The hadow fArtaudBenjaminaidthat ll culturalrtifactsredocumentsfbarbarism)toargue hatt s the ource fwhateverrudgingincerityamletma-chinepossesses. ikeArtaudonductingis Gnostic earches within"in his prose-poemsnd theatercenarios,Millersetsup a polarizedmentalpace nwhichmind ndbody rerealms fgoodandevil, ndthespeakers understoodo be pridefullyassing hroughperiod fdegradationnd humiliationn the way to redemptionnd tran-scendence f thecorporeal. is humiliations a result f his inwardgaze:herealizes, ornstance,hat iscrusade gainst eceived ulturehas rejoined imwithhispatrimony;is ravenous eadingnd inces-santwielding f referencesave madehim nto new kind fmasterauthorwhose dentitys a pastichef otherdentities. is pride omesfrom isdeeper nowledgegnosis) hat eis neverthelessna path oeventualalvation, is descent nto postmodern)asenesspreparatoryandpurgativeand hatsreallyhe nusual oint orMtiller.SusanSontagwrites, ithArtaudnmind:

The elf,r pirit,iscoverstselfn he reak iththe orld".. onlywhen oralityas een eliberatelyloutedsthendividualapablefradicalransformation:nteringnto statefgracehateaves llmoralcategoriesehind..,omeone ho s saved sbeyondood nd vil.Foundedn n xacerbationfdualismsbody-mind,atter-spirit,vil-good, ark-light),nosticismromiseshebolitionf lldualisms.29Beyond good and evil. Like Sontag,Mtillerwants us to hear aNietzscheancho,butonly n echo "Forthines thenothingnessau-sea").Though e seldomdmittedt,hedreamedfa "transvaluationfvalues" s much s Artaud; good examples the dealShakespeareantheatereyond thedrapery,hecostume f ideas"thathe wistfullydescribed.30t is crucial o thepeculiar ightropeance of Hamletma-chinethat hisdream e suppressed,owever.Mtiller's peakermustyearn or redemptiveuture utnever escribe rname t. He mustregisterincerityithoutpecific esire,uggesteliefwithoutnobjectofbelief,ontinueoimagineommunalatherhanndividualedemp-tionLehrstiick-as-grail),fheis tokeephisdrama romtaking lace,"keep tfromackslidingntowhat errida alled the heologicaltage."

29. Susan Sontag, "Artaud," n AntoninArtaud: Selected Writings NY: Farrar,StrausndGiroux, 976)xlvi.30. Miiller,hakespeareactory (Berlin: otbuch,989)229.


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Jonathanalb 61The heatricalracticef ruelty,n ts ctionnd tructure,nhabitsrratherroducesnontheologicalpace...The tagestheologicalorslongs ts tructure,ollowinghentiretyf radition,omportshe ol-lowinglements:n uthor-creatorho,bsentnd romfar,s armedwith textndkeepswatchver,ssembles,egulateshe ime r hemeaningfrepresentation,ettinghisatterepresentim sconcernswhats called he ontentfhis houghts,isntentions,isdeas.31

As much s anythinglse, t s thefear fbecomingnunambiguouslyprivilegedpeaker ike this "author-creator"hatmakesthe HamletActor tep nto hefather'srmor ndtake phisparade fmasks gainat theendofsection our.At leasthisfathers a ghost, role,whichmany ear utno onereally elieves n.The finalwords f section our re"Ice age" - thetitle fTankredDorst's 1973playaboutKnutHamsun, Nobel-Prize-winninguthorandunregenerateazi - andsection ive estoreshehumor ndsavoirfaire ftheprevious astiche,ven s it mplies hat hereal, ffectualrevolution ust nteruspendednimationor n eonor so. It beginswith capitalized uotefrom riedrichi1derlin,n authorwho wasdiagnosed s insane like Artaud,Nietzsche,Hamsun,Hamlet andOphelia) ndspent he astthirty-sixears f his ife na tower, lay-ing piano and flute, eading lassics,and occasionally omposinginconsequentialerse:

FEROCIOUSLY OISED/IN HEAWFULARMOR/THROUGHMILLENIADeep sea. Ophelia in a wheelchair. ish wreckage orpsesandpiecesof orpses rifty.97)Milller sed"iceage"as a figureorCapitalismnTheConstructionite(1963-64); ere t ndicateshe eturnfa mythicpaceofpermanentor-ror.Myth ushesn to fill hevacuum hat hevacation fhistoryascreated. hespeakers timelesslyoth traitorthe uotes ontainefer-ences o Judas ndthe etrayalfthe1919Spartacusprising)nda dor-mant ermnthe ody olitic, female iftholumn aitingilentlyornadvantageousomento attackhe atriarchyrom ithin.uringhe iceage," uch nontheological"esistanceanappearn theworld nly s ter-ror: When he walks hroughour edrooms ith utchernives ou'llknow he ruth,"s the ast ine, quote romManson angmember.

31. Derrida,WritingndDifference35.


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62 TheShadowofArtaudIn 1979 an interestingttack n MUller ppeared n the WestGerman

journal LiteraturKonkret hat lluminates is uses of Artaud. "HeinerMiiller's 'Endgames,"'by Michael Schneider,was partly n ill-consid-ered attempt o updateand dignify hephilosopherWolfgangHarich's1973 denunciation f Mtiller s a Marxist postate,whichhad appearedin the East German ournal Sinn und Formand was infamous mongGerman ntellectuals t the time.32CitingHamletmachineas well asGermaniaDeath in Berlin andGundling'sLife . .) as certain videncethat he authorhimself s "in crisis,"Schneider omplained hathe had"given up forgood" the"position fEnlightener"nd becomepreoccu-pied instead with"distorted,esperatehate-hymnso history." his oldargument earsrepeating odaybecause it stemsfrom misunderstand-ing still commonamongMUiller's ublic. Schneidermissed the essen-tial pointthatMiillerwas nottruly ll, not actuallysufferingnythinglikeArtaud's"central ollapse ofthesoul." Ifhe were,he wouldnotbeable to maintain uch strict ontrol verHamletmachine's alancing ct,carefully nsuring hatevery ast hint of trueconvictionwas specifi-cally contradicted. is relationshipo Artaudwas tactical,borrowingcomplexionof authentic athology o lureus into a diabolical literary-historical unhousewhere he could administer is own versionof cru-elty: enforcing "lidless stare"at the grindingwheels of history ndculture,rt s "a thornnthe ye."33WhatSchneiderdidunderstand ell was Mtiller'sgeneral vant-gard-ist ambition o resistmarketingnd easy assimilation ybourgeois he-atrical institutions. e saw thatHamletmachine'sobduratelyuncon-ventionalformwas an attempto createsomething ndomesticable, uthethoughthat tfailed.

Where istorys portrayednly nconnection ith niversalerrorandoppression.. and where opossibilityfradical ction xistsanymore,esignations the nly utcome,nd ven he pectatorhoonce thoughtf himself s an activeopponentf theprevailingcircumstancesasno choice ut o it heremotionlessly,nmasochis-tic njoymentfhispowerlessnessnthe ace fhistory.'432. MichaelSchneider,HeinerMillers Endspiele,"' iteraturonkretSpring1979)32-37.Wolfgangarich,Derentlaufeneingo,dasvergesseneloss," innundForm 5.1 1973): 189-218.33. The quotes are from hakespeareFactory2 227 and Rotwelsch103. CompareTheodor dorno's emark:Thesplinternyour ye sthebestmagnifyinglass" Min-imaMoralia, rans. .F.N.JephcottLondon ndNY:Verso, 974), 0]- itselfrobablyanallusion otheGospel fMatthew:3-5.


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Jonathanalb 63ConcedinghatHamletmachine ight ave had some imited alueinthe East,which was "overfed or so longwith positiveheroes,"'Schneider ointed ut that t was playedandpublished nly n theWest,where ts"historical-philosophicalespair . . fitwonderfullywith he fashionableessimismnd coquettishihilism."MUiller astransformedwith ne blow nto star ramatist."hispoint asvalid-ity.Writtens an anti-masterpiece,heworkwon a placeas a modemclassicevenbeforet was produced. ow one reacts o that o-opta-tion, owever,ependsn how hard-line"ne wishes obe inthepushtowardevolutionarypheavalnthe raditionalbourgeois)heater.MUiller asrepulsedythe o-optingrocess,which e called"beingtakennto ustody"Dingfestmachung].eactingo the"fetishization"of thework's tructuraleculiaritiesparticularlyhepredominancefmonologue), e deliberatelyetout nhis next lays,The Mission ndQuartet, o avoid "police identification"y reshufflingis technical"battleforms."35 hese effortsotwithstanding,amletmachine asmoreprovocativendchallenginghen tfirstppeared han tshastycanonizationmplies.Theo Girshausen'sookTheHamletmachine:einerMiiller's nd-game,for nstance,ontainsopiousdocumentationf a Cologne he-ater's cancellation f the world premiere wo weeks before itsscheduledpeningn 1978. Hamletmachinelaceddemands n a 'nor-mally'functioningtate heaterhat ushedtscapacityor reedomndfacilitieso the imits," rites irshausen.36he actors ickeredmongthemselvesnd with hedirectorver onceptual ointsuch s therea-son forproducingheplayin the first lace and thedivision f thegroupnto chorusnd twoprotagonistsHamletndOphelia); nd the

directorVolkerGeissler) lashedwith heaterdministratorsverhisinsistencehat it wouldcontradicthe ntentionf thetext o direct tinanauthoritariananner"ndhisseemingndifferenceodeliveringmarketable,finished"roductionya setpremiereate.37 venwhentheworkdid reach hestage nEssenthefollowing ear, twas any-thing utsnug n its nstitutionalontext;ccordingoonereport,hefinal ableauwas so frighteninghat omespectatorsushed nto the34. Schneider,HeinerMiillersEndspiele"' 3.35. Miller,GesammelteIrrtiimer6-57.36. TheoGirshausen,d.,DieHamletmaschine:einerMillersEndspielCologne:Prometh,978)8.37. Girshausen,ieHamletmaschine:einerMillersEndspiel 8.


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64 TheShadowofArtaudstage o free phelia rom er auzebandages.38Moreto thepoint,hough,nydirector ho understandsamletma-chine's actical seof Artaud illnotnecessarilyvenwrapOphelia ngauzebandages,r follow nyof thework's thertagedirectionsorthatmatter.HereBrecht's esistanceoWerktreues animportantnflu-enceonMtUllers well a preferenceor roductionshat llow pecta-torsfreedomfthoughtyemploying ises n scene that ollide ndcontrast ithplaytexts.) U*llerisregardedlmost ll his own stagedirectionsn theseveral ccasionshe directed amletmachine,s didRobertWilson nhis famous 986productionnNew York, ondon,and Hamburg. emarkably, ilson's tagingwas almost ompletelyuncontingentn the lay."I do notunderstandhe ext,"aid Wilson ta press onferenceur-inghis Hamburg ehearsals.39ndeed,he did no research r textualinterpretation,s directorssually o,to identifyrhighlightubtextsand hemes,part rom chatwith he uthore describeds follows.

I came oBerlino eeHeinereforewent oNewYork nd skedhimwhethere could ay omethingo meabout t.He said, No,doithoweverouwant."Helpmeoutust little."laughs)He said: Itshouldn'te ongerhaniftyinutes."said,Okay."henwentoNewYork, orked or en ays I hadonly hree eeks andbroughtallthe ctionndmovementsnto hetage ithouthinkingbouthetext nd henaid he ext ver hemovementsnd hen egan ofithemovementsothe ext.40Affixinghe ext oa preconceivedcenic tructureasWilson'swayofgamblinghat hanceand his subrationalnderstandingf the workwould reate onjunctionsetween is aims ndMtller's: usually oubeginwith text ndthen hinkverwhich estureso takewitht,butthatwayyouusually all nto trap."41hegamble aidoff,s itdid nmany imilarlyhance-basedollaborationsetweenMerceCunning-ham ndJohn age.Wilson's cenic tructurerotatinghe et a quar-ter urnfter achsection ndrepeatinghe ame action equencewithslight ariationsfter ach rotation was magnificentlyouble dged:

38. This nformationomes romke 104-05 .77.39. Ulrike ahle, Milk torMove t,"Theater euteDec. 1986): .40. RobertWilson,nterviewith rank entschker,rischaMeyer, osefzeiler,andGuntram eber,Be Stupid,"nWolfgangtorchd.,Explosion f Memory: ei-nerMiiller DR: EinArbeitsbuchBerlin: entrich,988)62.41. "Be Stupid" 3.


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Jonathan alb 65fundamentalhangelessnessiven semblance fvarietyndprogressthroughhiftingerspectives.uxtaposedithheMUillerext,his uasi-mechanicalepetitionecame picturizationftime, istory,ndall theothereleologicalemonsssociated ith heHamlet ctor's drama."It was the tillnessfWilson's roduction,rokennlyby desultorysound ffectsa distantnimal owl, simple ianophrase, machine-gunblast) ndMuiller'sggressive ords,hat o sharpenedtssenseofentrapmenty somethingmmensend grinding et nvisible. acedwithWilson'sdisturbinglyomposedfiguresnd his obvious ndif-ferenceo illustratingr evenacknowledginghe text's ontent thetearingfMtiller's hotowas theonlyprescribedmagethat ctuallyappeared the pectatororkedll thehardero find oints f conver-gence.Who were hese igures,necontinuallyondered,hesedenti-callydressedwomenwho imultaneouslycratchedheir ailson a thintable, hishopscotchingan n boxer horts,hisman n eanswhokeptdropping book, ndwere hey gents rvictimsf thedramaticndhistoricalrocesses,bjects rsubjects?Wilson aid:"You havethese18-19-year-oldctingtudentsthepro-duction as firstone tNYU],they nownothingbout he ontextnwhich heplaywaswritten.. And explained othingbout t, saidonly: Speakthese ines imply,hese lowly,hese uickly,'nd so on.Theydon'tknowwhatthey're aying, nd that'sexactlywhatyouwant."42 Uiller,orhispart,dmiredheopennessnd"sensuousness"ofthe taging,speciallyWilson'shandlingftext likea body" thewaythechoreographyas rehearsedor week nsilence, hen lay-eredover"withwords o that you tillhear he ilence hat iesunder-neath."'43necouldviewtheprojects a delayed onsummationf hisprinciplef heatricalresistance,"hich e firstescribedn1975:

Whenwriteplay nd 'm ndoubtbout hichtage irectionshould riteort,whetheromeoneughtowalk nhishands rstandnhishead r n llfours,henknow.. thatomething'sotrightithhe ext. s ongsthe extsright,hat'sotnterestingorme; t's matteror heheaterr he irector.. I believeundamen-tallyhatiteraturesthereopose esistanceo he heater.4442. "Be Stupid" 3.43. Milller,Gesammelterrtiimer: InterviewsndGespraicheFrankfurt/Main:Verlag erAutoren,990)41,43.44. Miiller, esammelterrtiimer7-18.


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66 The hadow fArtaudPerhapshe rofoundestspect fthe roduction,owever,astheway t

clarifiedndunderscoredtiller'srueositionnauthorlyisappearance,ndtherelationshipetweenhat isappearancendhis brand f iteraryresis-tance." lthough ilson isregardedhe extwhen omposingis tage ic-tures,e also eft amletmachinehoroughlyntact,otheast ine nd tagedirection.Theseatter ere poken yactorsr,n the aseofsectionhree,which asfilmed,olledcross screenikenews lashes.)hetext,notherwords, as imultaneouslybliteratedndpreserveds a monumentlike heimagesn t ofStalin, ao,Lenin,Marx,nd ikeHamlet,heHamlet ctorandhisdrama. bsoluteext,helteredndpreservedy he heaterf magesand tspreferenceor bsoluteextlessness:he rrangementasbased n themost enerableoliticalambitn rt,heester'sambit,aximumntegritytthe ricef ero uthority.45

45. This rticles anadaptedxcerptrom heTheaterfHeinerMiller, orthcom-ingfromambridgeP.


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