After World War 2 the theatre experienced a turning point (svolta) and new trends appeared. The massacres and the atomic bomb had left great marks on people’s souls. The Theatre of Cruelty is a striking example of how the writers tried to express their fears and their sorrow (dolore). It is a surrealist form of theatre theorized by Antonin Artaud in his book The Theatre and its Double who stated (stabilì) that “Without an element of cruelty at the root (radice ) of every spectacle”British author Aldous Huxley – well known for the anti-utopian novel Brave New World – wrote The Devils of Loudun in 1952. It is a non-fiction novel (racconti di fatti reali) which dates back to (si rifà a) some events occurred (accaduti) in 17th century France in the small town of Loudun. A prest, Urbain Grandier, was accused of seducing an entire convent of Ursuline. Besides, proud (orgoglioso) and insolent as he was, he challenged (sfidò) the Mother Superior, Sister Jeanne of the Angels, rejecting her offer to become the spiritual advisor (consigliere spirituale) to the convent . The ecclesiastical tribunal at first released (lo rilasciò) him, then, when he spoke against Cardinal Richelieu, judged him guilty and burned him at the stake (bruciò vivo) at Loudun, France on August 18, 1634. In the book the priest is describes as possessed by the devil. Huxley used the historical background to describe religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and mass hysteria and to touch on (per evidenziare) aspects of the multiple personality and cases of apparent demonic possession. The story was adapted into a stage play in 1960, and further on (dopo) into a particular – and censored – 1971 Ken Russell film The Devils, which starred (interpretato da) Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed.