Antoine Artaud was born in France, 1896. His parents were Eupharasie and Antoine, both his parents were from Izmir, his work was greatly influenced by his Greek past. He had nine siblings but only he and his site survived. As a child he had many illnesses and suffered from depression, also influencing his work. In March 1920 left to Paris to become a writer but instead went into theatre, he found his talent for Avant-grade theatre. Though he was learning drama he continued writing essays and poetry. Artaud also had an interest in cinema; he made many films, one being The seashell and the clergyman, directed by Germaine. In 1926-28 he ran the Alfred Jerry theatre. Along with Roger Virrtic. He produced and directed original works by Vitrac, as well as pieces by Cluadel and Strindberg. The theatre advertised that they would produce Artaud's play Jet de sang in their 1926-1927 season, but it was never mounted and was not premiered until 40 years later. The Theatre was extremely short-lived, but was attended by an enormous range of European artists, including Andre Gide, Arthur Adomov, and Paul Valery..
In 1931, Artaud saw Balinese dance in the Paris. Although he didn't totally understand the ideas behind it, the performance influenced many of his ideas. In 1935, Artaud's production of his adaptation of Shelley's The Cenci premiered. The Cenci was a huge failure, when the production failed, Artaud left to Mexico, he also studied and lived with the Tarahumaran people and experimented with peyote, recording his experiences, which were later released in a book called Voyage to the Land of the Tarahumara. Artaud also recorded his horrific withdrawal from heroin upon entering the land of the Tarahumaras. Having deserted his last supply of the drug at a mountainside, he literally had to be hoisted onto his horse, and soon resembled, in his words, "a giant, inflamed gum". Artaud would return to opiates later in life.
Artaud to France in 1937, after his time in Mexico, this is where he got a walking stick that he believed belonged not only to St. Patrick, but also Lucifer ( the devil ) and Jesus Christ, he then went to Ireland because he wanted to put the staff back, though he barely spoke any English and was unable to make himself understood. He spent most of his trip was spent in a hotel room that was not payed for. He was forcibly removed from the grounds of Milltown House but he refused to leave. Before deportation he was briefly confined in the notorious Mountjoy Prison. Though apparently the Irish Government papers he was deported as "a destitute and undesirable alien".On his return trip by ship, Artaud thought he was being attacked by two crew members and retaliated. He was arrested and put in a straitjacket.
The return from Ireland brought about the beginning of the final part of Artaud's life, when he stayed in many mental asylums. Then France was occupied by the German army during ww2, his remaining friends put him in to the psychiatric hospital in Rodez,where he was controlled by Dr. Ferdiere. Ferdière began the electroshock treatments to remove Artaud's symptoms, which included various delusions. The doctor believed that Artaud's habits of crafting magic spells, creating astrology charts, and drawing disturbing images were symptoms of mental illness. The electroshock treatments created much controversy, although it was during these treatments—in conjunction with Ferdière's art therapy—that Artaud began writing and drawing again, after a long dormant period. In 1946, Ferdière released Artaud to his friends, who placed him in the psychiatric clinic at Ivry-sur-Seine. Current psychiatric literature describes Artaud as having schizophrenia, with a clear psychotic break late in life and schizotypal symptoms throughout life.
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