André Antoine

This book investigates Antoine's exploration of the possibilities and limitations of stage realism.

This book investigates Antoine's exploration of the possibilities and limitations of stage realism, his concept of a workshop theatre for new writing and acting, his experiments and achievements in the mise en scene at the Théâtre Libre and Théâtre Antoine, in the classics at the Odéon and in the early silent film.André Antoine, founder of the Théâtre Libre in 1887, was one of the initiators of the modern theatre. This full-length study of Antoine's work in English for more than sixty years is notable for its attention to the variousness of Antoine's remarkable career. It explores the power and some of the inherent contradictions of Antoine's stage realism, his creation of a repertory theatre noted for its ensemble playing, and his innovatory work in directing Shakespeare and the French classics. In the final section, Antoine's encounters, c.1918, with the new medium of film are discussed. The book will be of interest to students and teachers of drama, theatre history, film studies and literature, and to the general reader. It includes a chronology of Antoine's productions and theatre career and is generously illustrated with drawings and photographs.