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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE THEATRE OF BERNARD-MARIE KOLTÈS: EVOLUTION AND REVOLUTION IN POSTMODERN FRENCH DRAMA A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By FABRICE CONTE Norman, Oklahoma 2017 THE THEATRE OF BERNARD-MARIE KOLTÈS: EVOLUTION AND REVOLUTION IN POSTMODERN FRENCH DRAMA A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE COLLEGE BY ______________________________ Dr. Pamela Genova, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Judith Pender ______________________________ Dr. Michel Lantelme ______________________________ Ms. Susan Shaughnessy ______________________________ Dr. Daniel Simon © Copyright by FABRICE CONTE 2017 All Rights Reserved. Acknowledgements This opportunity to return to the University of Oklahoma and successfully complete my doctoral degree would not have been possible without the generous assistance and constant encouragements provided by Dr. Pamela Genova, my mentor and director, for whom I have the greatest admiration and respect. I would also like to thank Dr. Judith Pender for her infallible guidance and expertise whether working in the classroom or in the theatre. I want to express my deepest gratitude for the support I received from Professor Susan Shaughnessy, Dr. Michel Lantelme, and Dr. Daniel Simon throughout this process. I also owe a special thanks to the faculty of the Peggy D. Helmerich School of Drama, in particular Dr. Kae Koger and Director Tom Orr, as well as the faculty in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. These two impressive academic units served as my double home for the past four years and helped me grow as an educator and scholar. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, as well as my husband, Dr. Jason Williamson, who always speaks of me with pride. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements IV Abstract VI Introduction 1 Chapter One: Bernard-Marie Koltès, Heir to the Cultural Project of “Décentralisation Théâtrale” 12 1.1. Five Precursors to the “Décentralisation Théâtrale” 16 1.2. Cultural Policies after World War II 25 1.3. Hubert Gignoux 33 1.4. Emergence of a New Playwright 40 1.5. Conclusion 64 Chapter Two: The Language of the Deal: Multilingualism and Identity in Koltesian Theatre 66 2.1. Koltesian Language 66 2.2. Multilingual Drama 72 2.3. Multilingualism and Race in Combat de nègre et de chiens 79 2.4. Multilingualism in Translation and Production 102 2.5. Conclusion 113 Chapter Three: Myths and Mythification in Roberto Zucco 117 v 3.1. Myth, Literature, and Drama 117 3.2. From Myth to Literary Myth 120 3.3. Myth and Theatre: Bond Through History 123 3.4. From Fait Divers to Myth 151 3.5. Zucco and Hamlet 159 3.6. Zucco and Samson 166 3.7. Zucco and Icarus 170 3.8. Conclusion 176 Conclusion 181 Bibliography 192 vi Abstract The Theatre of Bernard-Marie Koltès: Evolution and Revolution in Postmodern French Drama establishes an understanding of French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès (1948-1989) as the most important figure in postmodern French drama. This dissertation also reflects the interdisciplinary dynamic of theatre, always taking into consideration both its literary and its performative aspects. In the Introduction, I describe the noticeable divide between Koltès’ importance in the realm of late twentieth-century French theatre and the problematic way in which the playwright is portrayed—that is, clearly underrepresented—in the most recent edition of Oscar Brockett and Franklin J. Hildy’s widely used textbook, History of the Theatre (First published in 1968. 10th edition published in 2008). In Chapter One, “Bernard-Marie Koltès, Heir to the Project of Décentralisation Théâtrale,” I explore the complex socio-cultural and political context that fostered the emergence of Koltès as one of the most celebrated French playwrights of the twentieth century. I then trace the development of public theatre in France through the contributions of five prominent figures, all of whom are known as distinguished authors and stage directors: Maurice Pottecher, Romain Rolland, Firmin Gémier, Jacques Copeau, and Charles Dullin. I also discuss cultural policies implemented in France after World War II, policies that facilitated the organization of a remarkable network of public theatres across the country, as well as the career of influential actor-director Hubert Gignoux, who became Koltès’ friend and mentor. Finally, I devote the end of this chapter to the gradual public acclaim of Koltès, through a largely biographical vii narrative that emphasizes the connections between the playwright’s professional and personal achievements and the complex structure of public theatres that characterize the French theatre scene since the 1950s. Chapter Two, entitled, “The Language of the Deal: Multilingualism and Identity in Koltesian Theatre,” is rooted in Koltès’ belief that all dramatic action is always transactional because characters can only interact within the context of a form of negotiation. Using this approach as a primary framework, I explore two crucial and interconnected characteristics of Koltès’ plays: their linguistic and racial diversity. In fact, some of the most interesting Koltesian transactions—which have become known as his “deals”—encompass the results of the encounter between characters who speak different languages and belong to different races. I begin the chapter with a discussion regarding the nature of Koltesian language, of which multilingualism represents one of the most distinctive features. Next, I provide an overview of multilingual theatre—an increasing trend in contemporary dramatic literature—and I offer an analysis of the role of multilingualism and race in Combat de nègre et de chiens. In the final part of Chapter Two, I discuss the challenges that emerge from the growing presence of multilingual drama, with special emphasis on questions related to the translation and production of multilingual plays, a topic quite relevant to the introduction of Koltès’ theatre in the United States. In Chapter Three, “Myths and Mythification in Roberto Zucco,” I investigate the multidimensional relationship between myth, literature, and drama (with theatre simultaneously understood as a literary and performative art form) and I consider the concept of literary myth as a foundational element in theatrical practice. Following this viii discussion, I present a four-part myth-analysis of Koltès’ final play, Roberto Zucco, dating from 1989. The first part examines the mythification of the news event that inspired the play. The second, third, and fourth parts of this argument explore the emergence of three particularly prominent literary myths through the figure of Zucco: Hamlet, Samson, and Icarus. The deliberate incorporation of these mythical figures affirms Koltès as a playwright who belongs to the same twentieth-century tradition of French dramatic literature as Jean Cocteau, André Gide, Jean Giraudoux, and Jean Anouilh, among others. In the Conclusion, I reflect upon the current state of teaching and production of Koltès’ plays in the United States, an undertaking that leads me to further argue in favor of a more substantial representation of Koltès’ contributions in the teaching of recent Theatre History. Finally, I offer some personal remarks, both formal and thematic, regarding my own experience directing Quai ouest in 2005 and translating and directing Roberto Zucco in 2014 for the University of Oklahoma Helmerich School of Drama. ix Introduction When an individual has the opportunity to read Hervé Guibert’s 1991 extraordinarily haunting text, À l’ami qui ne m’a pas sauvé la vie,1 an auto/fictionalized telling of his losing battle with AIDS, one may well think of the last few months in the life of French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès (1948-1989). In a climate of fear, chaos, and secrecy, he too was fighting a losing battle with the same invisible and—at that time—invincible physical enemy. Koltès ranks among many important figures of the French intellectual and artistic community of the era to succumb to this devastating disease, among them Guibert’s companion, the highly celebrated philosopher Michel Foucault in 1984, the popular comedian Thierry Le Luron in 1986, the award-winning film director Jacques Demy in 1990 (among many others from the creative and critical realms), and the fascinating Guibert himself in 1992. Koltès’ promising career, cut short by this new plague of the twentieth century, produced a phenomenon that playwright Michel Vinaver calls both an “[œ]uvre achevée”2 and an “[œ]uvre interrompue” (7).3 These examples all embody careers completed, in a way, because of their thematic and stylistic breadth, yet also tragically interrupted when the brilliance of the mind at its equinox is irrevocably shattered by the demise of the body, in a weirdly and truly horrible actual realization of the nineteenth-century motif of the mal du siècle.4 There is no question that a feeling of incompleteness lingers, as if AIDS condemned part of 1 “To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life.” 2 “completed body of work.” 3 “interrupted body of work.” 4 “malady of the century.” The mal du siècle refers to a concept developed by the French Romantics, in particular François-René de Chateaubriand and Alfred de Musset, which describes an unescapable sense of melancholy and disillusionment caused by the false promises of the 1789 revolution, as well as the continued discontent evidenced by the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. 1 Koltès’ legacy to remain forever