th
17
Century French
Theatre
Neo-Classicism
Neo-Classicism
After 1625 French theatre began
to grow and develop.
The political climate in France was
becoming more stable.
Previously, in the 1500s there had
been battles to fight during the
Civil War, meaning little time and
energy went into theatre.
King Louis 14
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Cardinal Richelieu set out to reform the
theatre
He looked at what other European
countries were doing.
He adopted some ideas from these
countries, especially Italy. This included
using a proscenium arch and scenery
He believed in an ideal of drama which
became known as ‘neo-classical’
Neo-classical Ideals
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Neo-classical drama was very ordered and
ideals or rules had to be followed
Plays were either all tragedy or all comedy
Tragedies: noble characters who were
based on royalty
Comedies: ordinary, everyday people
The plays were written in 5 acts
All action on stage took place within the
same place and day
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The plot or storyline had to be simple
The ending had to have a positive
outcome, ie a happy ending
Evil characters had to be punished
Good characters had to be rewarded
Plays that were performed in France and
did NOT follow these neo-classical
guidelines were often disregarded or
attacked
The Theatres
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The best places to perform these plays
was in a purpose built theatre
These theatres had a proscenium arch
In a proscenium arch theatre, the
audience sits in front of the stage
The stage is framed within a border
around the sides and across the top,
forming a picture frame effect
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When watching a play the audience was
‘looking into another world’
Proscenium arch stages became the most
popular form of stage
They are still popular today
This sort of theatre is often referred to as
‘4th wall’. Why?
Famous Playwrights – Racine,
Corneille and Moliere
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Corneille and Racine were famous for their
tragedies
Moliere (1622-1673)
Moliere was considered the outstanding
French playwright or the era
He wrote comedies
Moliere had spent many years touring with
his theatre company
Corneille
Racine
Moliere
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Moliere had spent many years touring with
his theatre company
He learnt much from Commedia dell’arte
troupes
Once established again in Paris, he worked
at the Palais Royal Theatre with a variety
of other companies
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Moliere ran his own company
He also wrote the plays
And acted in them!
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French theatre companies like Moliere’s
were comprised of 10 – 20 members
This included musicians and backstage
crew
Women actors were allowed
All profits were shared
Tartuffe
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Tartuffe was one of Moliere’s most popular
plays
It was religious satire
It attacked groups who spent their time
judging other people’s morals
Tartuffe is still enjoyed today
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Moliere’s whole life was theatre
His wife was an actress in his company
Moliere wrote excellent female parts for her in
his plays
His company was immensely successful
Moliere became very ill during a performance of
one of his plays “The Imaginary Invalid”
He died only a few hours later
His comedies were his greatest achievements
The Stage
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The French adopted the proscenium arch
stage
Fully indoor theatres
Lighting
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Light was provided by candles and oil
lamps
Lighting included chandeliers and
footlights
Audience lights were left on to help light
up the stage
Lighting effects were very difficult
Stage was not as well lit as today
Scenery
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Simple and minimal
No scene changes
Same settings used for many plays
Furniture and props were used sparingly
It was common for some audience to sit on
stage!
On stage seating more expensive
Too disruptive and was abolished in the 1750s
The French Actors
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Professionals
Earned their living from their craft
Companies had to make good money just
to survive
Shareholders bought shares or parts in the
companies
Shareholders were allowed to vote on
which plays were to be produced
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Each company had a set of plays it
performed at different times
Actors specialised in the type of role they
played, which were fairly stereotyped – bit
like Commedia
Actors had to provide their own costumes
which was expensive
Costumes were the contemporary dress of
the time