French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Boisson, A. Folco, A. Martinez, La mise en scène théâtrale de 1800 à nos jours
Theatre and Performance
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Bénédicte Boisson, Alice Folco, Ariane Martinez, La mise en scène théâtrale de 1800 à nos jours
Paris: P.U.F., coll. "Licence", Nov. 2010
256 p.
15 EUR
ISBN: 978-2-13-057641-9
Publisher's overview:
"From 1800 to the present day, stage direction has gradually established itself as an art form in its own right. This book synthesizes the main aesthetic developments and ideological debates that have shaped its history in order to shed light on the present. Without being restricted to French theatre, it extends to European and international fields, highlighting the works and artists who serve as models or whose influence remains strong on contemporary creation: Antoine, Lugné-Poe, Stanislavski, Craig, Meyerhold, Copeau, Jouvet, Dullin, Jaques-Dalcroze, Schlemmer, Gémier, Vilar, Brecht, Grotowski, Kantor, Mnouchkine, Brook…"
Table of contents:
Chapter One. —
The Invention of an Art (1800-1900)
The Audience Market
The Conflict Between Text and Stage Direction
The Optics of the Stage The Actor, from Declamation to Embodiment
Chapter II. —
The Director as Master of the Game (1900-1950)
The Anti-Conservatories: (Re)forming the Actor
The Text as an Object of Controversy
Space Frees Itself from Figuration
Meeting the Audience
Chapter III. —
The Emancipated Stage (1950 to the Present Day)
The Text as an Element of Stage Direction
Being on Stage
Frontality Questioned
In Search of the Audience
The Authors:
Bénédicte Boisson is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Rennes 2 – Haute-Bretagne. Her research focuses on contemporary aesthetics, the notions of presence and co-presence, and the relationship between the stage and the auditorium.
Alice Folco has been a Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at Stendhal University – Grenoble III since September 2008. She holds the Agrégation in Modern Literature and a PhD in Theatre Studies entitled Mallarmé's Dramaturgy; her current research focuses on the history of 19th-century theatre.
Ariane Martinez is a Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts at the University of Grenoble III. A holder of the Agrégation in Modern Literature and a former student of the ENS-LSH (Lyon), she published La Pantomime, théâtre en mineur, 1880-1945 with Presses de la Sorbonne Nouvelle in 2008.
The concept of theatrical stage direction underwent a transformation during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Initially subordinate to the written text and traditional declamatory acting, staging gradually emerged as an autonomous art form. This volume synthesizes the main aesthetic developments and ideological debates that have shaped the history of stage direction. The book addresses the relationship between text and stage direction, acting methods, stage optics, and theatrical space, extending to European and international fields to shed light on contemporary creation.
Throughout the modern era, the relationship between the stage and the auditorium has been constantly renegotiated. The book outlines how stage space freed itself from figuration, how frontality was questioned, and how the relationship with the audience evolved. It also covers the shift in acting from declamation to embodiment and the audience market. The text covers the period from 1800 to the present day, tracing the development of stage direction up to the emancipated stage. Readers interested in the history of performing arts and European theatrical evolution may find it relevant.