The study examines the work of André Benedetto, both as writer and as director of the Nouvelle Compagnie/Théâtre des Carmes at Avignon from 1961 till 1991. It seeks to elucidate his major concerns and offer a critical assessment of his techniques and achievements as a dramatist and man of the theatre. To these ends, it traces, largely chronologically, the evolution of his career through a number of clearly-defined stages. Chapter 1 describes the company's earliest work, showing how by 1966 Benedetto had defined his position to the left of the established practices of mainstream decentralised theatre in France. Chapter 2 shows him beginning to establish his own distinctive dramatic voice with plays such as <I>Napalm</I> in 1967, while Chapter 3 analyses the impact of the events of May 1968 on Benedetto's writing during that year. Chapter 4 discusses his cycle of theatrical Marxist parables between 1969 and 1972. Chapter 5 looks at the group of plays concerned with the problems of Occitania between 1973 and 1975. Chapter 6 is concerned with Benedetto's work outside the normal structures of the theatre - work on the street, in Festivals, and in collaboration with groups outside the theatre - between 1968 and 1976. Chapter 7 discusses the brief hiatus in Benedetto's evolution that occurred in 1975-77. Chapter 8 shows how he fused the twin poles of community theatre and Occitanist subject-matter in a series of large-scale projects between 1977 and 1981. Chapter 9 examines the major change in orientation that occurred in his work in the early 1980s, which appeared to show a switch away from political theatre to more introspective work. Chapter 10 examines the plays written between 1987 and 1991, in which his ability to deal with complex political and social issues is consolidated around a more mature artistic vision.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:637042 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | George, B. |
| Publisher | Swansea University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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