Théâtre et voyage (ed. L. Guyon) - Theatre and Performance

French Literature Reviews - 2026

Théâtre et voyage (ed. L. Guyon)
Theatre and Performance

THE IRISH JOURNAL OF FRENCH STUDIES

No. 4, 2004

Special Issue "Théâtre et Voyage"
Guest Editor: Loïc P. Guyon

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Curtain-Raiser (Editor's Foreword)

ADRIEN PASCHOUD
The Power of the Image and the Efficacy of Representation: Edifying Theatre in the Jesuit Missions of South America (16th–17th Centuries).

Edifying theatre played a prominent role in the missiological practices of the Society of Jesus. In the reductions of the Paraguay Province, Jesuit fathers had plays performed that were reminiscent of medieval mystery plays, depicting God and the Devil, Adam and Eve, the Apostles, the saints, and the martyrs of the early Church. Written in the Guaraní language and performed by the Indigenous people, these plays were intended to strengthen the faith of the "neophytes" through the virtue of representation and the efficacy of imitation. While they clearly served as an instrument of cultural export, these plays also uniquely integrated numerous elements of Tupi-Guaraní religious life, all within the colonial context of the era.

SYLVIE REQUEMORA
Travel in 17th-Century French Theatre.

While it is easy to speak of a "poetics" of travel writing, it is far more difficult to speak of a "poetics" of travel within the novel—although the motif is inherent to the origins of the genre—and it is even more delicate to use the term in the 17th century with regard to travel in theatre, given that neither Aristotle nor any theoretical treatise truly or directly addresses the issue. Indeed, travel, involving as it does movement from one place to another and the time required for that movement, does not seem compatible with the rules of the unity of time and place that became so crucial as French classicism developed. Nevertheless, numerous types of travel are evoked, and even staged. This article examines the forms these journeys took, addressing the representational and regulatory challenges they raised across the three main dramatic genres of the period: tragi-comedy, comedy, and tragedy.

FRANCOIS MOUREAU
Insular Gallantries: Travel and Theatrical Utopias in the Early 18th Century.

The theme of the Isle of Love is a variant of utopian constructs that flourished particularly between the Classical period and the Enlightenment. In theatre, but also in poetry (Abbé Tallemant), the novel, and the painting of *fêtes galantes* (Watteau), this universe sheltered from harsh reality conveys an ideology of rupture under the most innocuous disguises. This journey to the land of nowhere is, paradoxically, a journey to the land of the "true world" (Marivaux) where "masks" are laid aside. It is—in another paradox—within a theatre dominated by masks (those of the fixed types of the *commedia dell'arte*) that the insular utopia reveals human truth. Two comedies by Marivaux written for the Italian troupe, *L'Île des esclaves* and *La Colonie*, illustrate in their own way the function of theatrical travel in these secluded worlds, where it resonates all the more powerfully.

LOIC GUYON
Behind the Scenes and Across the Globe: Theatrical Travel in the 19th Century.

In the 19th century, French dramatic writing experienced phenomenal growth. Thousands of plays were published and performed, including a vast number of travel plays. The author offers an initial foray into this vast universe of theatrical travel and attempts to outline its map:
how are plays of this particular genre cataloged?
Who were their main authors and what were their defining characteristics in the 19th century? These are the questions this article attempts to answer through the examination of four original types:
military travel plays, exploration travel plays, travel plays of necessity, and leisure travel plays.

Book reviews:

  • Buford Norman (ed.), The Child in French and Francophone Literature (Phyllis Gaffney)
  • Roger Little (ed.), Histoire de Moulay Abelmeula. Le Triomphe de l'amour et de la vertu dans l'esclavage et sur le trône; ou l'histoire de Moulay Abelmeula écrites sur ses propres mémoires (Brigitte Lejuez)
  • Marc Smeets (ed.), Joris-Karl Huysmans (Pascale
    McGarry)
  • Christiane Blot-Labarrère (ed.), Cahiers Pierre Jean Jouve 7. Jouve et le symbole (Michael G. Kelly)
  • Dominique Auvray, Marguerite. A Reflection of Herself (Brigitte Lejuez)
  • Nathalie Morello & Catherine Rodgers (ed.), Nouvelles écrivaines, nouvelles voix? (Francesca Counihan)

109 pages; Price: Institutions / Individuals 16.00 euros.

Published by ADEFFI

ISBN: 09541500-3-1

Payment by check or postal money order in euros made payable to Loïc Guyon (Guest Editor) and sent to:
Dr Loïc Guyon, Department of French, North Campus, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Maynooth, Co.
Kildare, Ireland.

The intersection of drama and geographical movement opens up complex questions regarding stage representation and classical unities. Throughout the early modern period and subsequent centuries, playwrights continually negotiated the logistical challenges of staging mobility, distance, and foreign settings. Scholarly inquiry into dramatic texts frequently examines how performance mediates encounters with distant cultures, colonial contexts, and utopian spaces.

Readers interested in the evolution of dramatic genres, colonial performance practices, and the thematic role of travel in literature may find this collection particularly relevant. The volume brings together targeted contributions addressing Jesuit missionary drama in South America, the regulatory challenges of travel in seventeenth-century French tragedy and comedy, early eighteenth-century theatrical utopias, and the landscape of nineteenth-century travel plays.