Manifesto for a New Theatre

"Pier Paolo Pasolini published the Manifesto for a New Theatre in Nuovi Argomenti in 1968, while preparing to direct Orgia, another of his six verse tragedies. While betraying his personal dissatisfaction with his own theatre work, the Manifesto mercilessly dissects Italian theatre into two types and exposes the presumption and uselessness of both. Later, in 1968, when his production of Orgia is met with hoots of derision, he will take the blame upon himself, saying, "My fault. I hoped to create a shift by leaping over the rules decreed by mass culture. But to do that, you have to commit yourself like a pioneer, for a lifetime. Otherwise you might as well just give it up.""--BOOK JACKET.