Robert Wilson is a famous art director, writer, performer, and stage designer. He is considered to be one of the most outstanding representatives of the theatrical advance guard. Though his first performances had been shown in America, he made a name for himself in Europe, after the staging of his Deafman Glance in Paris.
This performance was inspired by Wilsons cooperation with the deaf boy Raymond Andrews. This drama show, which lasts seven hours, is the result of the visual fantasies of the young boy, who is thinking not by means of words, but by means of the images. This performance was highly appreciated by the theater critics. It was a new approach to theater art. In the atmosphere of the complete absence of the sounds, Wilson succeeded in the visualization of the deaf boys surrealistic world.
There are several peculiarities in Wilsons theater concept. In his performances, he gives special attention to the movement, the language, and the lighting. The movement is one of the main points in Wilsons approach. Being a dancer in the past, he demands from his actors not only the perfect gestures on the stage but the understanding of the meaning of these movements. The movement, according to Wilson must have a rhythm and a structure. It has to emphasize the text, instead of simply copying it.
Special attention is also given to the lightning. The lightning by Wilson is the most important thing in the theatre. He compares the stage with the linen and the light with the coloring. As a painter draws the picture on the linen, as well as an art director, draws the picture on the stage. The language factor is of key importance for Wilson. The fact that the same text may bear different senses and arouse different feelings, depending on the situation, in a full manner is used by Wilson.