Final answer:
The statement is true; Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty and Jerzy Grotowski's poor theatre were prominent components of the avant-garde theatre movement, which sought to revolutionize theatrical expression and audience engagement along with expressionism, futurism, and surrealism.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is true that Antonin Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty and Jerzy Grotowski’s poor theatre were among the significant features of the avant-garde theatre movement along with expressionism, futurism, and surrealism. These innovators challenged traditional theatrical forms and sought to create a more visceral and authentic experience for the audience. Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty aimed for a deeply affecting and transformative theatrical experience that would engage the audience's senses in powerful ways, while Grotowski's poor theatre stripped down productions to their essential components of actors and text, emphasizing the actor-audience relationship and the craft of performance.
These movements were driven by a desire to reinvent the art form and explore the human condition in response to contemporary social changes and artistic aspirations. They were pioneering in their rejection of realistic theatre and their search for new means of expressing the subconscious, the electric pace of the modern era, and the plight and potential of humanity. The Theatre of Cruelty, poor theatre, and other avant-garde movements were influential in shaping contemporary theatrical practices and creating a platform for further experimentation in performance and applied theatre.