Jean Anouilh: artisan du théâtre ed. by Élisabeth Le Corre and Benoît Barut (review)

As Élisabeth Le Corre and Benoît Barut acknowledge in their introduction to this collection of papers from a conference organized to commemorate the centenary of his birth, Jean Anouilh has suffered from his reputation as a playwright straddling the popular and serious camps who, with his restrained use of Pirandellian and other avant-garde techniques, was able to leave the bourgeoisie stirred but not shaken; a man who, unlike Cocteau, knew exactly how far not to go too far. This strategy not only brought him huge theatrical success both in France and abroad, but, perhaps more surprisingly and despite the sniffiness of some critics and academics, he also found his way on to school and university syllabuses. One might have hoped that a centennial volume would attempt a reappraisal, eschewing, or at least downplaying, the usual criticisms to look at some positive aspects of Anouilh’s art, like his ability to write great parts or lines for actors, or his innovative use of music. Sadly, although there is much of interest here, the authors tend to retain the traditional view of their subject; even the volume’s subtitle, Artisan du théâtre, is a somewhat backhanded compliment. Hence, in a series of articles on Anouilh’s sources, we learn that his adaptations of classical drama or Shakespeare fall short of the originals. Of course they do; do we really need to be told this again? Surely dramatists adapting familiar tales at this period were not intending to vie with their sources, but to do something creatively different with them. What are the positive attributes that made at least one of Anouilh’s adaptations, Antigone, among the best-known plays of the twentieth century? Most articles are, unsurprisingly, devoted to the plays, but the ballet scenarios, the fables, and the author’s programme notes are also covered in three sections whose titles make reference to the profession of Anouilh’s tailor father, which, like the volume’s subtitle, risks striking a patronizing tone: ‘Modèles et patrons: “les ciseaux de Papa”’, ‘Dentelles et ficelles: la dramaturgie sous toutes les coutures’, and ‘L’Étoffe du dramaturge: portraits, autoportraits’. As well as the study of sources (something that, as most of the authors tell us, Anouilh disapproved of), other recurring themes are metatheatre and autobiography. Particularly interesting are Michel Bertrand’s study of L’Alouette, relating it to Jacques Audiberti’s play on the same subject (although Paul Claudel’s libretto for Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher might also have thrown up interesting comparisons); Jacqueline Blancart-Cassou’s study of late plays rehearsing Anouilh’s childhood obsessions, particularly his hatred of his mother’s lover; and Jeanyves Guérin’s examination of the author’s politics in relation to his support of Robert Brasillach, his anti-Gaullism, and his depiction of common people. The volume also includes facsimiles of three previously unpublished texts: papers relating to a film project, the corrected typescript of the first act of an unfinished play, and sketches for the ballet scenario Les Demoiselles de la nuit, as well as a selection of photographs and a useful index.