O trabalho visa investigar certa produção teatral realizada em São Paulo desde 2009, ou seja, depois do que foi visto como um esgotamento do ciclo de politização da cena paulistana começado com o Movimento Arte Contra a Barbárie na década de 90. Ao mesmo tempo continuando e criticando certo teatro político de moldes brechtianos, as peças aqui analisadas se caracterizam pela autorreflexão cênica, pelo questionamento do teatro dramático e textocêntrico e pelo confronto com o fracasso das vanguardas políticas e artísticas. Na tentativa de compreensão crítica da relação entre estética e política nesse recorte do atual teatro paulistano, busca-se aqui promover o embate entre essas obras e as formulações teóricas de Jacques Rancière, Theodor Adorno, Hans-Thies Lehmann e outros pensadores que localizam e discutem um sentido político da arte para além do engajamento. / This work attempts to investigate a certain theatrical body of works created in São Paulo since 2009, that is, after what was seen as an exhaustion of the cycle of politicization of the stage that began with Movimento Arte Contra a Barbárie (Art Against Barbarism Movement) in the nineties. Establishing simultaneously a continuation and a critique of a certain political theatre of Brechtian influence, the works here analysed are characterized by their scenic self-reflection, by the questioning of dramatic and text-centered theatre, and by the confrontation with the political and artistic avant-gardes failure. In the endeavour to comprehend critically the relationship between aesthetics and politics in this frame of contemporary plays, we try to promote the debate between these works and theoretical formulations by Jacques Rancière, Theodor Adorno, Hans-Thies Lehmann and other thinkers who localize and discuss a political sense in art beyond engagement.

Given the expansion of multimedia technology and proliferation of moving projections on the theatre stage in the 21st century, this thesis examines how a virtual or projected character can appear to be present without a physical body on the stage. This study is grounded in the theories of effet de présence (effect of presence) as elaborated by Josette Féral, but also uses other theories to look at how productions can create such an effect for virtual characters. Specifically, this thesis examines the character’s relationship with the real, framing devices and actions of the characters. The specific examples of Rwanda 94 (Groupov), La Belle et la Bête (4D Art) and Les Aveugles (UBU CC) are used as case studies in order to focus on these techniques. Partant de l’intégration des nouvelles technologies et la prolifération des projections vidéo au sein des scènes théâtrales du 21e siècle, cette thèse examine les techniques par lesquel les personnages projeté peut sembler présent en l’absence d’un corps physique visible. Cette réflexion est basée sur l’effet de présence, concept élaboré par Josette Féral, ainsi que d’autres théories et examine comment un effet de présence est constitué pour ces personnages virtuels en considérant leur relation au réel (mimesis), les dispositifs de cadrage dans lesquels ils s’inscrivent de même que leurs actions. Cette analyse sera menée à porter de avec trois étudies de cas : Rwanda 94 (Groupov), La Belle et la Bête (4D Art) et Les Aveugles (UBU CC).

When people 'go to the theatre' we know that they are audiences. When young people go to Contact, however, they might be audiences, performers and/or theatre makers - they might play all three or more roles. Contact's users blur existing concepts and terminology. When we want to know more about theatre audiences, audience research offers models based on the distinction between audiences and theatre makers. If we want to know more about Contact's users, however, a model reflecting the blending of audiences and theatre makers' roles has yet to be developed. This thesis engages with Contact's users. It maps some of their multiple roles and experiences by asking two main questions: What are the practices of the people attending Contact and how can these practices be researched? A range of qualitative methods is necessary in order to investigate the wide variety of Contact's users' roles and experiences. Individual and group interviews are drawn from audience research, creative workshops are drawn from communication studies, and participant observation and visual research from the social sciences. Finally, a new method, Walking Fieldwork, is adapted for the use in theatre. A number of case studies are employed to investigate Contact's users. These case studies involve the observation of young actors during rehearsals and performances, the observation of participants in an outreach project, the investigation of audiences' experiences of two productions, and several short post-show interviews with general Contact audiences. This study found evidence that the relationship between theatre makers and audiences is changing. The term 'theatre user' is introduced as it opens up an area of overlap between the two and fits contemporary practices at Contact more closely. Contact's users function as communities, participants and co-creators. The descriptions of these roles and experiences contained in this thesis are understood as an initial exploration into practices of contemporary theatre users. However, further research is needed to build a more detailed understanding of these practices. In terms of research methods, this study found that the academic field of audience research needs to develop methods which are sensitive to both the backgrounds of theatre users and the theatrical context. The argument is put forward that audience research should become more aware of methods for the investigation of human experience and should enter into a 'methods-dialogue' with other academic fields of study.

Cette thèse de doctorat en littérature et arts de la scène et de l’écran examine les écritures scéniques de la catastrophe humaine dans le théâtre contemporain. Elle explore les dynamiques qui sous-tendent la représentation de la barbarie au sein de formes spectaculaires marquées par une forte dimension visuelle. Divisé en deux volets – un premier, critique et un second, pratique –, le travail s’articule d’abord autour d’un corpus composé de trois spectacles : Kamp du collectif Hotel Modern, Rwanda 94 du Groupov et Rouge décanté signé par Guy Cassiers. En observant les oeuvres à la lumière de la complexité et en les abordant à l’aide d’une approche systémique,l’étude tente de révéler les mouvements – esthétiques, perceptifs et thématiques – qui animent ces écritures hétérogènes. La seconde partie de la thèse rend compte d’un processus d’expérimentation mené dans l’espace scénique. Ce dernier, consacré à esquisser une création artistique originale, questionne les mémoires occidentales du génocide des Tutsi du Rwanda.L’expérience pratique fait écho à plusieurs des problématiques soulevées par l’investigation critique et propose une autre forme de réflexion, menée directement sur le plateau. / This doctoral thesis in performing arts looks into scenic writings of human disasters incontemporary theatre. It examines dynamics underlying the representation of barbarism withinspectacular forms imprinted with a visual dimension. Split into two parts – a first one, critical anda second one, practical -, the work is firstly structured around a corpus composed of three shows :Kamp of the Hotel Modern group, Rwanda 94 of Groupov and Rouge décanté by Guy Cassiers.Through the observation of the works in the light of the complexity and by analysing it with asystemic approach, the study attempts to reveal the moves – aesthetic, perceptive and thematic –that drive these heterogeneous writings. The second part of the thesis deals with a process ofexperimentation led in the scenic space. The latter, dedicated to outline an original artisticcreation, questions occidental memories on the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. The practicalexperience echoes back to several issues raised by the critical investigation and proposes anotherform of reflection, directly led on the stage.

Bernard-Marie Koltès, est l’un des dramaturges français de la fin de XXème siècle les plus joués dans le monde. Son théâtre se définit par une violence omniprésente. Celle-ci s’exerce à la fois envers ses personnages, mais aussi ses spectateurs et prend plusieurs formes : celles du langage, du temps et de l’espace. Cette recherche s’appuie sur un corpus aux multiples formes puisque nous considérons son théâtre comme un « art total ». Nous utiliserons donc des documents annexes issus de l’art plastique, de la peinture, de la musique, de la danse et de la photographie. Pour approfondir notre sujet, nous allons également nous appuyer sur des entretiens avec François Koltès, le frère et ayant-droit de l’auteur, mais aussi avec des metteurs en scène comme Bruno Boëglin ou Philip Boulay et des comédiens comme Clément Bresson, Ismail ibn Conner. Étant d’origine turque, je me suis intéressée aussi à son influence sur le théâtre turc et notamment dans l’oeuvre de Bu!ra Gülsoy, Pragma, qui, comme Roberto Zucco de Koltès, cherche à dévoiler la personnalité des tueurs en série. / Bernard-Marie Koltès is one of the most performed French playwrights of the late twentieth century in the world. His theatre is defined by a violence omnipresent. In fact, this violence is applied on characters on stage and also on the audiences and takes various forms: language, time and space. Since we consider Koltès’ theater as a ‘total art’, we will base this study on a corpus with multiple forms. As well as we will use additional documents from plastic arts, painting, music, dance and photography. In order to study the subject in depth, we will also base our research on the interviews with Koltès’ brother and rights holder, François Koltès;also with stage directors such as Bruno Boëglin, Philip Boulay and actors Clément Bresson, Ismail ibn Conner. Turkish in origin, I am interested in his influence on Turkish theater, especially on Bu!ra Gülsoy’s work, Pragma. In his work, Bu!ra Gülsoy, as we come across extremely in Koltès’ work, Roberto Zucco, tries to reveal the personality of serial killers and their perception of violence.

O trabalho visa investigar certa produção teatral realizada em São Paulo desde 2009, ou seja, depois do que foi visto como um esgotamento do ciclo de politização da cena paulistana começado com o Movimento Arte Contra a Barbárie na década de 90. Ao mesmo tempo continuando e criticando certo teatro político de moldes brechtianos, as peças aqui analisadas se caracterizam pela autorreflexão cênica, pelo questionamento do teatro dramático e textocêntrico e pelo confronto com o fracasso das vanguardas políticas e artísticas. Na tentativa de compreensão crítica da relação entre estética e política nesse recorte do atual teatro paulistano, busca-se aqui promover o embate entre essas obras e as formulações teóricas de Jacques Rancière, Theodor Adorno, Hans-Thies Lehmann e outros pensadores que localizam e discutem um sentido político da arte para além do engajamento. / This work attempts to investigate a certain theatrical body of works created in São Paulo since 2009, that is, after what was seen as an exhaustion of the cycle of politicization of the stage that began with Movimento Arte Contra a Barbárie (Art Against Barbarism Movement) in the nineties. Establishing simultaneously a continuation and a critique of a certain political theatre of Brechtian influence, the works here analysed are characterized by their scenic self-reflection, by the questioning of dramatic and text-centered theatre, and by the confrontation with the political and artistic avant-gardes failure. In the endeavour to comprehend critically the relationship between aesthetics and politics in this frame of contemporary plays, we try to promote the debate between these works and theoretical formulations by Jacques Rancière, Theodor Adorno, Hans-Thies Lehmann and other thinkers who localize and discuss a political sense in art beyond engagement.

Le sujet central de cette recherche est une investigation sur le statut de la fiction dans le théâtre occidental contemporain. En ligne avec les transformations sociales de son temps, les contours du théâtre ont perdu de leur netteté. En ce moment de mise en question radicale, la permanence, la mutation ou la disparition de la fiction est l’une des caractéristiques principales pour la reconfiguration de l’art théâtral. En diagnostiquant l’environnement de méfiance par rapport aux méthodes et résultats de la représentation, nous avons étudié ce nouveau lieu qu’occupe, ou peut occuper, la fiction théâtrale. Par le débat théorique et par l’analyse des expériences théâtrales des trois dernières décennies, nous avons identifié une préoccupation avec le réel et avec l’innovation formelle qui ne sont pas incompatibles avec un projet théâtral critique. / The main subject of this research is the investigation on the role of fiction in western contemporary theatre. In line with the social changes of our times, theatre has lost its clear definition. At a time of radical questioning, the mutation or disappearance of fiction is central in the discussions around the definition of theatrical art. To understand an environment of disbelief in methods and results of representation, we research into a potential new place that theatrical fiction occupies [or can occupy]. Through the theoretical debate and analysis of theatrical experiences of last the three decades, we identify a concern with the real, and formal innovations that are not incompatible with a critical theatrical project.

La comédie de menace, expression utilisée pour la première fois par le critique de théâtre Irving Wardle en 1958, est devenue aujourd’hui une notion stéréotypée, appliquée de manière systématique au théâtre d’Harold Pinter. Cette thèse, en proposant de nouveaux critères de définition à la fois sémiotiques et esthétiques, vise à réhabiliter ce genre qui ne cesse de se développer depuis les années 1950, chez des auteurs tels que David Campton, Caryl Churchill et Martin Crimp. Ce théâtre repose tout d’abord sur un renversement entre intrus et autochtone qui n’a jamais été exploré depuis son évocation par Irving Wardle. La sémiotique horizontale du dehors vers le dedans, associée au phénomène d’intrusion, est remplacée par une sémiotique verticale du surgissement : la menace émane des sous-sols et des profondeurs du moi dans une double acception topographique et psychanalytique. Théâtre de l’inversion, mais aussi de l’implicite : la comédie de menace suggère l’horreur plutôt qu’elle ne la donne à voir. Ce refus de l’opsis n’est toutefois pas synonyme d’euphémisation de la violence. Enfin, l’insertion de passages ludiques ne permet pas d’atténuer l’atmosphère menaçante mais décuple au contraire le malaise du lecteur-spectateur. Les dramaturges de la menace proposent ainsi un nouveau genre de comédie qui induit une nouvelle esthétique de la réception. / First used by the theatre critic Irving Wardle in 1958, the expression comedy of menace has become a catch-all phrase systematically applied to Harold Pinter. This thesis aims at redefining this genre, both semiotically and aesthetically, as well as restoring it to favour by showing that it has considerably evolved since the 1950s in the plays of David Campton, Caryl Churchill and Martin Crimp. This theatre first hinges on a reversal between intruders and inhabitants which has not been studied since it was identified by Irving Wardle. The horizontal semiotics linked to the intrusion motif is replaced by a vertical semiotics: menace looms up from the basements and the depths of the ego in a topographical and psychological perspective. Comedy of menace relies on inversion as well as unspoken feelings; it suggests horror rather than displaying it, yet it does not minimize violence. The comic interludes do not alleviate the menacing atmosphere but on the contrary enhance the spectators’ unease. The playwrights studied here thus devise a new comic genre which induces a new aesthetic of reception.

Certains spectacles, alors même qu’ils n’utilisent aucun matériel ni aucune technique cinématographiques (écran, caméra, images filmées), donnent au spectateur une impression de cinéma. Ils réveillent chez le spectateur une mémoire cinématographique qui tout en étant individuelle, appartient à une culture commune. Parce qu’il constitue un patrimoine commun, le cinéma est un moyen pour le spectateur d’exprimer l’expérience qu’il fait d’un spectacle. Notre idée étant que la présence du cinéma au théâtre dépasse la question de la composition de l’œuvre elle-même et qu’elle s’exerce aussi par le regard de ceux qui le reçoivent. Le cinéma du théâtre auquel nous nous intéressons est un cinéma « intérieur », formé de réminiscences suscitées par des spectacles qui portent en eux les traces d'un cinéma parfois oublié, toujours assimilé, incorporé. Ces « impressions » qui forment le cœur de notre travail résultent donc d’une double pratique de spectateur de théâtre et de cinéma chez ceux qui créent le spectacle et chez ceux qui le reçoivent. Nous proposons d’envisager l’intermédialité au théâtre au sein du spectateur et de sa mémoire, du simple fait que le spectateur de théâtre, est a priori un spectateur d’autres arts et que ses habitudes de perception esthétique se construisent par le biais de plusieurs pratiques. La notion d’impression permet de penser le rapport entre l’œuvre théâtrale et le spectateur. De la réception à l’analyse, l’impression liée au caractère intuitif de la perception et à son ancrage affectif joue un rôle essentiel dans l’élaboration de la pensée. Il s’agit de faire de l’impression un terrain de recherche et de s’en emparer avec ce qu’elle comporte de subjectivité, d’intuition et nécessairement d’approximation. Plutôt que de contourner la subjectivité souvent perçue comme un écueil, pourtant inhérent à l’analyse, il s’agira d’en faire un objet d’étude. L’enjeu sera de comprendre comment le cinéma en tant que culture visuelle et sonore, en tant que pratique façonnant des habitudes de réception, des discours, des réflexions critiques, des courants de pensée peut influencer le théâtre contemporain français notamment par le regard qu’on lui porte. / Certain theatre performances, even if using neither cinematographic material nor techniques nevertheless give the spectator an “impression of the cinema”. They create patterns of perception that films have accustomed us to and solicit a cinematographic memory in the spectator. Even if this is wholly individual, it still belongs to a common culture. Moreover, it takes place through the process of interpretation. For example, the spectator in discussing a theatrical performance borrows from the technical and artistic imaginary of a vocabulary unique to the cinema. These “impressions” form the core of the following work and are the result of a viewing practice that is at once theatrical and cinematic.Impressions play a central role in the elaboration of thought and are connected to the intuitive character of perception and its emotional foundations. What has been made into an object of study in the following work is the very subjectivity that is most often avoided as a stumbling block to interpretation even if it is inherent in any mode of analysis. The following work will make an effort grasp what the passing of cinema in contemporary theatre allows us to say about the latter. It will do this through an analysis of a sample of current representative theatrical works and how the spectator’s speech is produced through them and in relation to the cinema. Several contemporary theatrical productions will be at the centre of this study: Salves de Maguy Marin, Les Marchands of Joël Pommerat, Ricercar de François Tanguy or This is how you will disappear by Gisèle Vienne.

Contemporary theatre is increasingly visual, an aesthetic shift that has been analyzed in, among others, Hans-Thies Lehmann’s influential Postdramatic Theatre. This shift is apparent in Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki’s intercultural adaptations, which adapt plays of the Western repertoire for contemporary Japanese and international audiences in a style that is richly and evocatively visual. Notions drawn from postdramatic theatre, metatheatre and postcolonial theories are applied as framing devices to uncover the deep cultural and theatrical significance of Suzuki’s adaptive work. My approach to analyzing the three case studies: Suzuki’s King Lear, The Trojan Women, and Cyrano de Bergerac takes a more globalized view of theatrical adaptations that acknowledges the visual turn of contemporary theatre and contributes to the fields of intercultural performance studies and adaptation studies by expanding the notion of interculturalism beyond the limits imposed by current Western analytical perspectives.