Introduction

Clare Finburgh

Carl Lavery

pp. 1-29

in: Clare Finburgh, Carl Lavery (eds), Contemporary French theatre and performance, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011

Abstract

Contemporary French Theatre and Performance is a collection of essays that explores theatre and performance practices taking place in France today. The aim of the volume is to bring to Anglophone readers some knowledge of the innovative but largely unknown developments in the fields of French theatre and performance. This is the first time that these different practices have been discussed in one publication, and the juxtaposition of media enables fruitful parallels and echoes to emerge, indicating both the porosity and the clarity of distinctions between theatre and performance in France. The book is also unique in that contributions are made not only by eminent scholars, but also by directors, playwrights and performance artists from the United Kingdom and France. This variety of backgrounds adds to the richness of perspectives that the volume provides.