Sartre's Theatre: Acts for Life

by Benedict O'Donohoe

Overview

Published on the eve of the philosopher-playwright's centenary, this study offers a wide-ranging re-appraisal of Sartre's complete dramatic opus, from the inaugural 'nativity' play, Bariona (1940), to the swan-song chorus of Armageddon, Les Troyennes (1965). It draws on a close reading of Sartre's writings in philosophy, literature and criticism, and provides an extensive survey of journalistic and academic reception. Each play is situated in relation both to Sartre's intellectual evolution and to the broader historical context. This is the first full-length study in English, for more than thirty years, covering the whole of Sartre's theatre, and it will interest students of twentieth-century European drama, as well as those of modern French literature and ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783039102808
Publisher:	Peter Lang AG, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Publication date:	12/20/2004
Series:	Modern French Identities , #34
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 8.66(h) x (d)

About the Author

The Author: Benedict O'Donohoe read French at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he also took his doctorate for a thesis on Sartre's theatre. He is a Principal Lecturer and Programme Director at the University of the West of England, Bristol, and currently also Secretary of the UK Society for Sartrean Studies and Reviews Editor of the journal Sartre Studies International. He has published widely on Sartre, and is now planning a volume on the theatre of Albert Camus.

Table of Contents

Contents: Sartre’s theatre: genesis and reception – Myth-making: Bariona, ou le Fils du tonnerre, Les Mouches, Huis clos – Too much reality: Morts sans sépulture, La Putain respectueuse, Les Mains sales – From Hispano-German melodrama to Anglo-French farce: Le Diable et le bon Dieu, Kean, Nekrassov – Madness and Armageddon: Les Séquestrés d’Altona, Les Troyennes.

Editorial Reviews

O'Donohoe's book is undeniably a much-needed addition to the field [...]. Not only is O'Donohoe's analysis a welcome contribution to Sartrean studies, this comprehensive and well referenced book, with its clear, accessible commentary, is of particular interest to undergraduate students (both of twentieth-century European drama, and modern French thought and literature in general), and is a crucial text for any university library. (Helen Tattam, Modern and Contemporary France)
...this is a useful and interesting book that gives a clear and coherent view of Sartre's writing for the theatre. (Rosemary Arnoux, New Zealand Journal of French Studies)
[The book] is a much-needed, well-referenced and informative introduction to Sartre's dramatic output that will appeal to undergraduates and theatre scholars alike. (Alison Forsyth, Theatre Research International)

From the Publisher