Archive of 29 original photographs of The Living Theatre, 1959-1969

N.p. N.p., 1959-1969. Archive of 29 original photographs from The Living Theatre performances, dating between 1959 and 1969, including 27 borderless photographs and eight double weight photographs.

Four photographs with Gianfranco Mantegna photographer stamps on the versos, six photographs with Horace Dimayo photographer stamps on the versos, two with "L'Express/Manuel Bidermanas" photographer stamps on the versos, and one with a "Photo Pic" stamp on the verso.

The archive includes:

One borderless photograph from the January 13, 1959, premiere performance of William Carlos Williams' "Many Loves," on The Living Theatre Playhouse's opening night.

Three borderless photographs of the June 29, 1966 performance of "Mysteries and Smaller Pieces" (1964) at the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe in Paris.

Three borderless photographs from the September - October, 1966 performances of Jean Genet's "The Maids" (1947) at the Berliner Festwochen, including two double weight.

Seven borderless photographs from the July 1968 performance of Bertolt Brecht's "Antigone" (1948), performed at the Avignon XXII Festival at the Cloître des Célestins.

Two double weight borderless photographs of Julian Beck and Judith Malina being interviewed in 1968 at the Avignon XXII Festival at the Cloître des Carmes.

Six borderless photographs from the October 1969 performance of "Mysteries and Smaller Pieces" (1964) at the Circo Medini in Milan.

Two photographs from the October 1969 performance of "Paradise Now" (1968) at Teatro Alfieri in Turin.

One borderless photograph of Julian Beck from Bernardo Bertolucci's segment, "Agonia," from the 1969 compilation film "Love And Anger."

Lastly, four borderless photographs we have been unable to definitively identify, including a photograph of a stage set, a photograph of a performance of three actors, a photograph of Jean-Jeacques Lebel, and a photograph of a woman in profile, possibly Living Theatre actress Mary Mary. The latter two photographs are likely from the 1968 Avignon performance of "Paradise Now."

Founded in 1947 in New York by Julian Beck and Judith Malina, The Living Theatre is the oldest active experimental theater group in the United States. In the fifties and sixties the company became an epicenter for revolutionary culture, performing both original and repertory works. The company produced often radical stage productions and adaptations of works by artists and writers such as Bertold Brecht, Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, William Carlos, Williams, T.S. Eliot, Pablo Picasso, Luigi Pirandello, and Federico García Lorca, among others, and laid the foundation for New York's robust underground art scene in the ensuing decades.

The Living Theatre and its founders were the subject of the 1983 documentary "Signals Through the Flames," directed by Sheldon Rochlin.

Photographs generally 7 x 5 inches to 12 x 8 inches. Near Fine overall, five with light toning. All housed in a 9.75 x 12.17 inch Near Fine black folder with a "The Living Theatre" sticker on the front board.

[Book #168709]