Francophone Voices of the “New” Morocco in Film and Print: (Re)presenting a Society in Transition by Valérie K. Orlando (review)

are spoken. Other works, epic in nature, are comprised of interminable lists and disjointed monologues, creating a theater of totality. Writing is performance and mystery, and breath is as important as words. Works by authors Valère Novarina and Claude Régy are analyzed to show how text and performance converge to create new modes of expression where writing, voice, and body exist as one. In the section entitled “(Under)writing the Stage,” attention is paid to authors whose works exemplify the explosion and expansion of the theatrical text in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. An article on Michel Vinaver shows that, for this playwright, no single point of view is enough to convey a situation. For him, fragmented scenes and open interpretations express the instability of perception. The study of Bernard-Marie Koltès, whose characters struggle within the confines of language to express desire, illustrates how theater can effectively represent the frustration inherent in communication. Articles on the works of Novarina and Noëlle Renaude elaborate on the performative nature of the spoken word and the “embodiment” of theatrical language as well as textual fragmentation. These, in the context of a theater of totality, radically undermine theatrical convention. Part 3 of the volume, “Disputed Textualities,” deals with Francophone drama and intercultural contact through theater. Two articles touch on the specificity of theater texts primarily by African and Caribbean authors and outline how these cultures evolved. In the context of this volume, it would have been interesting to read more about how language, body, and voice function together in these works from non-European traditions. The last article sketches, somewhat negatively, the limited presence of French theater in the United States and compares Vinaver and an American playwright, both of whom experiment with language and performance. Part 3 is less cohesive than previous sections and leaves the reader wishing for more depth. Most of the articles in this volume show how exciting contemporary theater can be and hint at a fascinating future for this art form. Although the collection is primarily destined for those with an academic interest in French-language theater, the articles on Régy, Vinaver, and Novarina are useful for theater practitioners exploring current theories of staging and performance. The section titles are not very helpful but the articles, for the most part, map a clear path through the complexities of contemporary French-language writing for the stage. Most important of all is the way in which the volume prompts the reader to seek out plays not yet read and to imagine theater texts not yet written. Metropolitan State College of Denver (CO) Ann Williams ORLANDO, VALÉRIE K. Francophone Voices of the “New” Morocco in Film and Print: (Re)presenting a Society in Transition. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. ISBN 978-0-230-61631-8. Pp. xix + 262. $90. La dissidence est une facette de l’écriture francophone, remarque Orlando (21); la littérature, la presse et le cinéma marocains qui se sont développés depuis la fin du régime répressif (1999) marquent une volonté de divergence idéologique caractéristique de l’engagement que Franz Fanon prônait il y a quarante ans. L’objet de cette étude est cet engagement essentiel à la promotion de dialogues et de changements sociaux, politiques ou culturels dans une société postcoloniale. Reviews 177 Orlando l’analyse chez des auteurs et des cinéastes marocains qui se livrent à une introspection systématique du passé et forcent leurs lecteurs et spectateurs à examiner le contexte contemporain. Orlando étudie comment cette troisième génération de militants documente et commente les fléaux et tabous du passé, refl ète et interprète les transformations de la société actuelle, tout en alimentant le dialogue et en incitant aux changements. La préface examine la nature du corpus littéraire, cinématographique et médiatique marocain après 1999 en soulignant comment ces nouvelles voix marocaines se démarquent de celles de leurs prédécesseurs dans un double souci d’écrire pour les Marocains et de privilégier un contenu honnête et sincère aux conventions littéraires. L’introduction précise...