Futurism and Witkiewicz: Variety, Separation and Coherence in a Theatre of Pure Form

This article will consider Witkacy’s theatre plays alongside his contribution to dramatic theory with the Theory of Pure Form. In particular, it will examine the interplay between a sense of unity and a sense of the alogical, a term first used by the Italian Futurists. Focusing on The Water Hen but with reference to other plays as well as Futurist theoretical and dramatic counterparts, the article investigates on the one hand the interruption of narrative and linear progression, and uncertainty as to existence, identity and relationship; and on the other hand the persistent continuous underlying anxiety within the characters themselves and their sense of journey and destination. I suggest that his use of a series of arresting visual images and theatrical transformations unifies the scenes with in a single dream-like world, bringing an order, however opaque, to the chaos.