The Living Theatre
The Living Theatre is an influential experimental theater group founded in 1947 by Judith Malina and Julian Beck. Known for its provocative political performances, the troupe emerged as a key player in the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, engaging with social issues and encouraging audience participation. The group often broke traditional theatrical boundaries, inviting spectators to become part of the performance, and frequently included themes of anarchism and pacifism in their works. Originally based in the United States, The Living Theatre faced numerous challenges, including legal troubles and the need to operate in exile in Europe for a time.
Their repertoire included adaptations of plays by prominent writers such as Bertolt Brecht and Gertrude Stein, and they gained acclaim for productions like "The Connection" in 1959. Despite setbacks, including closures of venues and arrests, the troupe persisted in exploring contemporary political themes, including critiques of war and systems of oppression. Notable actors like Al Pacino and Martin Sheen have been associated with the group, which is recognized as one of America's oldest running experimental theater companies. Following Malina's death in 2015, The Living Theatre continued its legacy, producing works that resonate with ongoing societal issues.
The Living Theatre
The Living Theatre is an experimental theater group founded in 1947 by Judith Malina and her husband, Julian Beck. It was established as a provocative political theater and generated controversy in the United States and abroad. The troupe was part of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and 1970s, both reacting to and driving social change. The Living Theatre (often referred to as simply the Living) advocated an experience that brought performers and audience together intimately.
Although it was founded and based in the United States, the troupe lived in Europe for some time to avoid issues with American authorities. The group operated as anarchists, attracting a young membership of hippies. Performances were known for devolving into exhibits of public nudity, both by the performers and spectators drawn into shows. Critics were divided over the artistic merit of the Living Theatre.
Background
Malina was born in Kiel, Germany, in 1926. Her family later moved to New York City. She studied acting and directing with German director Erwin Piscator. Beck was an expressionist painter who gained fame as a set designer.
Malina and Beck regarded themselves as anarchists and pacifists. After founding the Living Theatre in 1947, they staged performances that expressed their sentiments. Many of their productions were plays written in verse. These included works by Bertolt Brecht, William Carlos Williams, T.S. Eliot, Jean Cocteau, and W.H. Auden. They often broke the fourth wall—the conceptual barrier between the performers and spectators—to include the audience in the shows.
The Living Theatre staged its first performance, Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights by Gertrude Stein, in 1951 in Greenwich Village's Cherry Lane Theater. The troupe struggled, however, and did not have a popular production for nearly a decade. Its 1959 production of The Connection by Jack Gelber was its first success. The troupe took the drug addiction drama to Europe for a successful tour in 1961 and also performed works by Brecht and Williams.
The troupe encountered problems throughout its history in New York City. The many theaters in which they staged productions were closed down by various agencies, including health inspectors and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which charged the Living Theatre with failing to pay taxes in 1963. Beck, Malina, and the Living Theatre were tried and found guilty of impeding federal agents from seizing their assets. They were fined and sentenced to jail. During the appeal, they were released for a tour and remained in Europe in exile. They were arrested later in Brazil and spent several weeks in prison, but due to pressure from international cultural celebrities, they were released and expelled from the country.
Back in New York City, the troupe produced works related to the Persian Gulf War, Wall Street bailouts, and other political issues. They advocated revolution against any system of oppression.
In addition to her work directing, writing, and appearing in Living Theatre productions, Malina was also a character actor. She appeared in numerous television programs. These included a role as Aunt Dottie in the cable television series The Sopranos, the role of Sonny Wortzik's mother in Dog Day Afternoon, and the role of Granny in The Addams Family film adaptation.
Beck died in 1985. Malina later married Hanon Reznikov, a fellow actor and writer in the Living Theatre. Reznikov died in 2008. Malina died of lung cancer in April 2015 at the age of eighty-eight. Malina and Beck had two children, Isha Manna and Garrick Maxwell Beck.
In the wake of Malina's death, the Living Theatre announced that it would continue. Brad Burgess served as artistic director, John Martello was named executive director, and Thomas S. Walker served as archive director and associate artistic director. Walker died in 2024, but, into the mid-2020s, Burgess continued to serve as artistic director.
Overview
For much of its history, the Living Theatre has been known for provocation and nonviolent anarchy. For example, its 1968 production Paradise Now in Italy involved rituals and antagonism: Its aim seemed to be to anger and wear down the audience until viewers walked out. The troupe often breaks down the barriers between the performance and the audience and frequently includes audience members. During the performances of The Body of God in the 1980s, the troupe involved local homeless persons. In keeping with its philosophy of inclusion, casting relies less on auditioning than on enthusiasm.
Malina's play Here We Are includes a message of anarchy. As members of the company sing about self-sufficiency and describe how they will make what they need, some in the cast make sandals on stage. The audience is also enlisted to participate by making sandals.
In 2013, the press reported that, after about seven decades, the Living Theatre's workspace was closed when Malina moved into an assisted-living residence. The Living Theatre was called America's oldest-running experimental theater company. Despite Malina's death two years later, the company carried on.
A production titled Know Your Rites toured the United States extensively through 2016. The production included workshops and performances of the Living Theatre's acclaimed Seven Meditations on Political Sado-Masochism. The seven titular themes of this work are love, money, property, state, war, death, and revolutionary change. The political work was written in 1973, a few weeks after Malina, Beck, and ten members of the troupe were released from a Brazilian prison. The 2016 tour was described as a response to the political upheaval and dissonance in the United States during the election season. Leaders of the Living Theatre noted that revolution against an oppressive system is necessary and hoped audiences would consider important issues of political and civic life.
A number of well-known actors have been associated with the Living Theatre. Al Pacino and Martin Sheen were both involved in productions early in their careers. Into the mid-2020s, the Board of Directors included Sheen, while Pacino was a member of the company's advisory board.
Bibliography
“Board.” The Living Theatre, www.livingtheatre.org/board. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Green, James N. We Cannot Remain Silent: Opposition to the Brazilian Military Dictatorship in the United States. Duke University Press, 2010, pp. 309-11.
"History." The Living Theatre, www.livingtheatre.org/history. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
"Judith Malina (1926-2015)." IMDb, www.imdb.com/name/nm0539652. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Kalish, Jon. "New York's Living Theater Drops Its Curtains." NPR, 30 Mar. 2013, www.npr.org/2013/03/30/175765565/new-yorks-living-theater-drops-its-curtains. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Karp, Evan. "Living Theatre in SF for 1st Time in Decades." San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Aug. 2016, www.sfchronicle.com/books/article/Living-Theatre-in-SF-for-1st-time-in-decades-9179861.php. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
Weber, Bruce. "Judith Malina, Founder of the Living Theater, Dies at 88." TheNew York Times, 10 Apr. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/theater/judith-malina-founder-of-the-living-theater-dies-at-88.html. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.