Performing the Paradox in the Theatre of Tristan Tzara

Abstract

Co-founder of the Dada movement, Tristan Tzara, wrote and produced three stage plays during the Paris Dada period (1920–1923). This article discusses Tzara's third play, The Gas Heart (1921) to show his unique application of theatricality. The text of The Gas Heart is interrupted in Act III by a dance presented as a typographical illustration. While event programmes substantiate the performance of the dance during presentations of the play (1921 and 1923) it remains unknown how the diagram informed the action of the dance. I argue that Tzara's dance exemplifies the paradox central to Tzara's creative programme. Applying Samuel Weber's definition of theatricality, this paper explores The Gas Heart dance as an expression of ‘singular duplicity’ (Weber, 2004), but one that opens ways for performing the paradox in the theatre of Tristan Tzara.