Where is the line between performance art and theatre?

TW: mentions of bodily harm and mild violence

After a few conflicted conversations, I have concluded that the line between performance art and theatre is blurry and deeply subjective. ‘Drawing a line’ is problematic and limits the complexity of performance, but I believe there are a few differences which often distinguish theatre from performance art.

Theatre, even in its most experimental forms, is rehearsed. On the other hand, performance art relies heavily on audience reaction and spontaneity. Often, performance artists’ intentions are to create the most extreme emotions and outcomes, and although theatre can strive to achieve the same impact, there is a clear emotional distinction between fabricated script (theatre) and raw performer and audience interaction (performance art), where there is no anticipated ending or known outcome. When entering a theatre, the actor or the audience member suspend disbelief and everyone walks out unscathed. On the other hand, performance artists have no such privilege, and the atmosphere is felt deeply by spectators.

Marina Abramović, a world-renowned Performance Artist known for her daring and perilous performances, discusses the difference in an interview with The Guardian. She explains that "Theatre is fake… The knife is not real, the blood is not real, and the emotions are not real. Performance is just the opposite: the knife is real, the blood is real, and the emotions are real." Her 1974 performance Rhythm 0 depicts the extent to which she pushed boundaries with real-life consequences. Abramović stood with an array of objects before her including perfume, wine, lipstick, scissors, an axe, chains, a gun, and a bullet. These objects were selected to inflict pleasure, pain, and death on her and in the following six hours, people brutalised her body, going to far as to hold a gun to her head.

This being said, there are certain performance styles which lie between the two genres and are problematic to place. Immersive and participatory theatre is similar to performance art in its unpredictability and reliance on audience involvement. Antonin Artaud, a Playwright who created the Theatre of Cruelty, aimed to disrupt the conventional relationship between the audience and performer in theatre by shocking, immersing and overwhelming to expose the primal core of humanity. Both the Performance Artist Marina Abramović and the Theatre Practitioner Antonin Artaud share the desire to bring the primal human instincts to the forefront of their art, so, where do we draw the line?