L’objet de cette étude est de dégager une idée de scène de l’écriture théâtrale de Beckett. L’interrogation est suscitée par la place particulière que semble occuper l’oeuvre dans le champ théâtral, que l’on pense aux dramaticules qui remettent en cause le partage du « théâtre de texte » et de ce que l’on approche plutôt aujourd’hui à travers l’idée de « performance », ou au fait que « le cas Beckett » est souvent convoqué pour exemplifier les rapports difficiles entre texte et mise en scène. On propose de penser que ces singularités sont les symptômes d’une entreprise plus radicale de mise en crise de la catégorie de l’incarnation qui informe implicitement une certaine compréhension du fait théâtral. L’exploration des assises philosophiques du refus beckettien de l’incarnation, et l’étude de la manière dont la poétique dramatique de l’écrivain met en volume, à divers niveaux, un conflit entre « la vie » et « l’abstrait », là où l’art théâtral est habituellement décrit comme reposant sur leur fusion, permettront de dégager, au croisement du théâtre et de la philosophie, des motifs théoriques qui travaillent en profondeur la conception traditionnelle de la scène, et de dessiner une autre idée, beckettienne, de scène. Qualifier l’apparition scénique des pièces de l’écrivain sera donc, simultanément, l’occasion d’envisager l’écriture théâtrale en d’autres termes, et notamment loin de l’opposition du texte et de la scène. / This work aims to define an idea of the stage through the study of Beckett’s dramatic texts. Our line of enquiry arises from the unusual position of his works within the theatrical field : whether one calls to mind the short plays which do not fit the division into « text-based theatre » and what is more commonly approached today through notions of « performance », or the fact that « the case of Beckett » is often evoked to exemplify the problematic relations that can exist between text and stage direction. We put forward the hypothesis that these particularities are the symptoms of the way Beckett’s plays undertake more radically to jeopardise the categories of incarnation and embodiment on which a certain understanding of theatre is grounded. Exploring the philosophical bases of Beckett’s refusal of incarnation/embodiment, and studying the way his poetics on various levels acts so as to throw into relief a conflict between « the living » and « the abstract », when dramatic art is usually described as their fusion, allows us to shed light on theoretical patterns shaping the traditional conception of the theatre, and to put forward another idea, a Beckettian idea, of the stage. Describing the way his plays conceive of scenic apparition will then also be a way to think of writing for the theatre in other terms, ones far removed from the opposition of text and stage.

Stephen Sondheim, famous for writing such musicals as Company, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Assassins, is often referred to as the originator of the modern concept musical. Despite varying definitions of the concept musical, it is generally agreed that the form embodies a specific identity or mood, which it communicates to an audience both emotionally and intellectually. As such it offers audience members a complete experience resembling in theory the idea of "total theatre" proposed in the nineteenth century by composer Richard Wagner. My thesis will argue that the similarity between Sondheim's concept musical and Wagner's total theatre is more than purely theoretical; it is practical as well, involving structural parallels such as leitmotif, minor chord development, and intricate lyricism. Congruently, many of Sondheim's choices describing communication with audiences on the emotional and intellectual levels also recall those utilized by Wagner over a century earlier. These similarities not withstanding, Sondheim, as a contemporary artist, creates work that has often been described in terms of theoretical movements that post-date Wagner, including "desconstructionism" and Brechtian theatre. While these terms certainly describe some differences between the work of Sondheim and Wagner, I will argue that their existence with regard to Sondheim does not preclude a Wagnerian approach to the contemporary composer's work. Elements of deconstruction and Brechtian alienation may, in fact, be linked back to Wagner in specific manners. My thesis will explore these connections, concluding that an approach to the work of Sondheim in the vein of Richard Wagner may suggest a successful method of interpreting the contemporary concept musical.

Cílem této magisterské práce je představit jednoho ze zakládajících členů neoistické skupiny, kontroverzního multimediálního performera Istvana Kantora. Práce se snaží zasadit Kantorovy aktivity do širšího historického, teoretického a politického kontextu. V díle Istvana Kantora se magisterská práce zaměřuje především na jeho krvavá X a na jeho názory na umění a tvorbu. Práce by měla korigovat některé nepřesné informace, které život Istvana Kantora a jeho tvorbu obestírají.

The goal of this thesis is to explore African American theatre through the lens of performativity and to show how the performative concepts of passing and entrenchment affected the writing of African American playwrights in the 1950s and 1960s. To this end, the first part of the work is focused on establishing performativity as a concept, starting with its origins in linguistics and then tracing its development. The main influences for this section are the works of Judith Butler, Nadine Ehlers, Andrew Parker and Eve Sedgewick. Butler's work on performativity is used as the main source for understanding performativity in its contemporary sense and to establish "passing" as a performative act. Ehlers' work serves to connect performativity to race and to show the use of "entrenchment" in performativity. Finally, Parker and Sedgewick's work provides a bridge between performativity and theatrical performance as they describe the "relations of spectatorship" necessary for the existence of theatre. Since performativity, in theatre or anywhere else, is based on discourse, the thesis will show the images and relations of spectatorship that defined African American theatre and performance since its inception. These include slave performance, black minstrelsy, but also the first attempts at quintessentially...