The Living Theatre's live performances have bequeathed to art performers a treasure trove of bold innovations to boost their imaginative powers. Its leaders, the two American 'enfants terribles' known as Julian Beck and Judith Malina, have indeed experimented with form and political discourse in a radical way throughout the long and tumultuous career of the troop. And the results of this commitment are here for all to see: dramatic performance has departed from its traditional realistic and 'bourgeois' paradigms and freedom of expression is the absolute motto of contemporary. To understand the impact of this political and artistic revolution, therefore, is to encompass within the new mindset of the 1970s the wind of change, the irresistible rise of a rebel youth with a cause. This paper intends to show in a synthetic way how the transformation of the performing arts realized in Europe thanks to the seminal influence of the Living Theatre has born fruit which can still be tasted today.