Theatre and State in France, 1760-1905

by Frederic William John Hemmings

Overview

Relations between theater and state were seldom more fraught in France than in the latter part of the eighteenth and during the nineteenth centuries. In his illuminating study, F.W.J. Hemmings traces the vicissitudes of this perennial conflict, which began with the rise of the small independent boulevard theaters in the 1760s and eventually ended in 1905 with the abandonment of censorship by the state. There are separate chapters on the provincial theater, while the French Revolution is given particularly detailed attention. This work, complementing his earlier book The Theatre Industry in Nineteenth-Century France (CUP 1993), will be of interest to students of theater history, French studies, and European culture in general.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521450881
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/25/1994
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.91(d)

Table of Contents

Chronology; Introduction; 1. The royal theatres of the ancien régime; 2. The rise of the commercial theatre; 3. Dramatic censorship down to its abolition; 4. The liberation of the theatres; 5. The royal theatres under the Revolution; 6. The theatre in the service of the Republic; 7. Re-establishment of the state theatres; 8. Curbs on the commercial sector; 9. Politics and the pit; 10. The theatre in the provinces; 11. The licensing sytem, 1814–1864; 12. The state-supported theatres in the nineteenth century; 13. The theatre in crisis: competition from the café-concert; 14. Dramatic censorship in the nineteenth century; 15. The private sector; Notes; Bibliography; Guide to further reading; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...the main text is gracefully written in clear, idiomatic British English. Cambridge University Press have happily maintained their usual production standards with clear fonts, an attractive dust jacket and remarkably few typographical errors. Professor Hemmings has addressed a central aspect of the history of French theatre, and has done so extraordinarily well." Dalhousie French Studies

"...this fascinating book is destined to become an essential component in the history of European theatre." Times Higher Education Supplement

"...everyone with an interest in theater, politics, sociology, and history in general should own and read this book. A writer of Hemmings's ability deserves encouragement!" T. A. Pallen, Choice

"...an invaluable resource for those who wish to do further work in the unpublished archives of the state police and the various national and commercial theaters. Scholars taking a more literary approach to the theatre will also find much of interest in these pages." Jeffrey S. Ravel, Theatre Survey

"It is a tribute to the clarity of Hemmings'writing that one is not often impelled to flip to the six-page chronology of historical and cultural events." Comparative Drama

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