The Cenci

The Cenci is a play by Antonin Artaud. First performed in 1935, The Cenci retells the story of a 16th-century nobleman, Francesco Cenci, and his daughter, Beatrice. The play is very graphic, violent, and disturbing, and it’s often criticized for its excessive surrealism. It's Artaud’s interpretation of Shelley’s 19th century play, The Cenci: A Tragedy in Five Acts. It’s rarely performed because audiences find it too traumatic. Artaud was a highly regarded dramatist and playwright active between the late 19th and the early 20th century. He was a key member of the European avant-garde movement, and critics regard him as one of the most influential theatre theorists of the 20th century.

The Cenci belongs to the theatrical category known as the Theatre of Cruelty. Artaud devised this category himself because he wanted to challenge the typical relationship between performers and audiences. He wanted audience members to lose all sense of time and space, and to focus entirely on their emotions. The Cenci places the audience at the center of the performance through gestures, sensory disruption, and shocking scenes.

The play takes place in Rome during 1599. The main character is Count Francesco Cenci. Cenci is a violent, vengeful, and manipulative man who terrifies everyone, including his closest family. He’s always implicated in one crime or another, and this time, he’s accused of murder.



In the first scene, a man called Cardinal Camillo interrogates Cenci about the rumors. He promises to make the rumors go away if Cenci gives the Church most of his possessions. Unsurprisingly, Cenci refuses to hand over anything and he declares his innocence. He claims that he’s above the Church and that God has no jurisdiction over his evil deeds.

Cenci has four sons, Rocco, Giacomo, Bernardo, and Cristofano, and a daughter, Beatrice. He plans on killing his sons and raping his daughter. It’s unclear why he loves terrorizing everyone so much, but what is clear is that his family want rid of him before he can cause any more damage. Cenci doesn’t plan on letting anyone harm him. Instead, he sends Rocco and Cristofano on a hopeless mission to Spain without any money. They soon starve and Cenci celebrates their deaths.

Meanwhile, a man called Orsino courts Beatrice. He only cares about sleeping with her and he doesn’t want to anger Cenci. When Beatrice begs Orsino to save her from Cenci, he refuses and admits he doesn’t love her. Beatrice feels lost, alone, and terrified, and her stepmother, Lucretia, doesn’t know what to do, either.



Bernardo and Giacomo know they must protect Beatrice, but Giacomo doesn’t want to hurt Cenci. Bernardo must convince him otherwise, but right now, there’s more to worry about. Lucretia flirts with him and won’t leave him alone. One day, she corners him and tries to seduce him, but Beatrice bursts into the room and asks for help.

Beatrice knows that Cenci plans on raping her, and when she tells Bernardo, he ushers her to safety. Cenci then barges into the room, looking for Beatrice. Lucretia begs him to stop terrorizing his children. In retaliation, he announces his plans to lock his family in a fortress where they’ll die. Giacomo realizes that he must defend the family against Cenci before it’s too late. Orsino agrees to help, but only because he’s plotting the Cenci family downfall.

One day, Cenci rapes Beatrice. She feels like a stranger in her own skin and she doesn’t know how to heal from this. When her brothers find out, they decide to kill Cenci. Orsino thinks it’s best to let the Church or the secular council deal with it, but Beatrice wants Cenci dead. The brothers try to shoot Cenci, but they miss.



Now, things are desperate. Orsino suggests that they hire servants to carry out the murder. The servants agree to kill Cenci in his sleep, but they lose their nerve and run away. Beatrice wonders why she entrusted this job to the men when she’s the one who really wants Cenci dead. She decides to kill Cenci herself.

When the brothers discover Beatrice’s plans, they know they must stop her. They don’t want her to have murder on her conscience. Before Beatrice kills Cenci, the brothers take the daggers from her and give them back to the servants. This time, the servants kill Cenci, but he doesn’t die without a fight. Beatrice pays the servants who then disappear.

Shortly after the murder, Cardinal Camillo reappears. He represents the Pope and must speak with Cenci about new charges against him. The family admits what happened and Cardinal Camillo says this is a grave mortal sin. Everyone is arrested, but when Beatrice tells Cardinal Camillo about the rape, he can’t help feeling sympathetic.



The sympathy, however, doesn’t last long. In the papal prison, Beatrice hangs from a torture wheel. She refuses to repent her sins because Cenci doesn’t deserve her guilt. The Pope sentences everyone to die. Bernardo repents and the Pope spares him. The play ends with Beatrice heading for her execution. She is stoic and unrepentant in the face of death.