Last month somebody introduced me to the existence of a course at Harvard University on French Theater and Performance. The one-line description of the class is “In this course, we will trace the history of French theater from the early twentieth-century to the present: its major trends, figures, and forms as well as its intellectual, historical, and political contexts.” I live just a few miles from the university, so briefly flirted with the idea of arranging to audit the class this semester (lectures in French!). But after a few minutes, I settled on a more modest undertaking: read all nine plays on the reading list. I might have to go more slowly than the one play per week pace that the course follows, but I figure it will be a good way to get a sampling from the past 120 years of French theater.
Here’s the reading list for the course:
- Jean Genet Les Bonnes, Gallimard Folio
- Marguerite Duras, L’Amante anglaise, Gallimard Folio
- Albert Camus, Les Justes, Gallimard Folio Plus Classiques
- Samuel Beckett, Fin de partie, Editions de Minuit
- Bernard-Marie Koltès, Combat de nègre et de chiens, Editions de Minuit
- Nathalie Sarraute, Le silence, Gallimard Folio
- Jean-Luc Lagarce, Juste la fin du monde, Solitaires intempestifs
- Marie NDiaye, Papa doit manger, Editions de Minuit
- Wajdi Mouawad, Tous des oiseaux, Actes Sud Papier
The books were all available via the Harvard Coop bookstore. They very nicely put them all in a list so I could fill my cart with just a few clicks. A week later, I had a nice stack of reading for the Fall.
Perhaps if I get wrapped up in this I’ll contact the professor, Matthew Rodriguez, and ask if I can sit in on just one or two lectures to get the feel of it. In the meantime, Allons-y!
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