Abstract
Artaud stated that ‘theatre is first ritualistic and magical, in other words bound to powers, […] and whose effectiveness is conveyed through gesture, directly linked to the rites of theatre which is the very practice and the expression of a hunger for magical and spiritual manifestations.' (1956 in Schumacher, C. 1989: 123,124). In Islands in the Stream (2004) by physical theatre company Derevo, this idea seemed particularly visible as the production held a dream-like beauty, which was conveyed, on a total level, in order to give the audience what looked like a perfect illusion. Indeed, central to Artaud's principles on ritual theatre is the idea that theatre is a total and absolute performance. It is an experience during which director, performer and spectator, by being pushed to their extremes, are going to surpass their limits.
