Artaud sought to remove aesthetic distance, bringing the audience into direct contact with the dangers of life. By turning theatre into a place where the spectator is exposed rather than protected, Artaud was committing an act of cruelty upon them. Antonin Artaud
In life and art, there are distinctions to be made between what an act of cruelty consists of. Maggie Nelson
With the first act of cruelty committed in the name of revolution, with the first murder, with the first purge and execution, we have lost the revolution. Kate Millett