Momus at the Fairs and the Early Boulevard Theatres: Parody in French Plays from the Ancien Régime to the Restoration Period

Authors

  • Elena Mazzoleni Università degli Studi di Bergamo

Abstract

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the heated competition between popular and “high” stages shapes the repertory of the fairs and the early boulevard theatres. According to the model of the ancien Théâtre Italien, fair theatres often parody the plays represented at the Comédie-Française and the Académie Royale de Musique. Fuzelier’s Pierrot Roland (1709) and Lesage’s Arlequin Thétis (1713) are examples, amongst others, of a satirical travesty, which is not a derisory quote, but turns out to be a dramatic renovation. The parody shows indeed experimental features, such as spectator’s involvement, stylistic and thematic mechanisms of self-reflection and “pre-stage direction” arrangements, able to inspire the 20th-century drama theory. In 1759, by which time Parisian fair-booths have started moving to the boulevards, parody still constitutes a response to marginality addressed to the authorities. Works reacting against academic erudition, the trends dictated by the newly founded theatrical reviews and even the supporters of romantic drama – hostile to hybrid dialogues, acrobatics, dances, songs and vaudevilles – include Roméo et Paquette (1772) attributed to Carrière-Doisin or Jean-Baptiste Radet; Turelure ou le Cahos perpetuel (1787) by Destival de Braban and Mayeur de St-Paul and Eugène Lauzanne's Harnali (1830).

Author Biography

Elena Mazzoleni, Università degli Studi di Bergamo

Elena Mazzoleni è assegnista di ricerca in Storia del teatro presso l’Università degli Studi di Bergamo. Dal 2011, fa parte dell’équipe di coordinamento scientifico-didattico del PhD internazionale Erasmus Mondus Joint Doctorate “Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones”. È componente del comitato di redazione delle riviste Elephant&Castle e Annuario Internazionale della Commedia dell’Arte. Nuova Serie. È socia della Consulta Universitaria del Teatro (Università degli Studi di Bologna) e dell’associazione italiana di francesistica “Seminario di Filologia Francese”. La sua attività scientifica privilegia lo studio dei fenomeni di ibridazione drammaturgica e spettacolare, che attraversano il teatro popolare del Settecento e dell’Ottocento ispirando le teorie novecentesche riguardanti il gesto attoriale ed il coinvolgimento del pubblico. Tra le sue pubblicazioni: Henri Rivière, Pierrot (Paris-Bergamo, Sestante-L’Harmattan, 2009), Loïe Fuller: il fascino della luce (Elephant&Castle, n. 8, 2013), Pierrot sur scène. Anthologie de pièces et pantomimes françaises du XIXe siècle (Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2015), Momus at the Fairs and the Early Boulevard Theatres. The Parody of the French Plays from the Ancien Régime to the Restoration Period (Elephant&Castle, n. 15, 2016), Migrazioni drammaturgiche. I teatri del boulevard du Temple (1759-1862) (Roma, Aracne Editrice, 2017) e George e Maurice Sand sulle scene di Nohant. Il rinnovamento della Commedia dell’Arte (Milano, Mimesis Edizioni, 2017).

Published

10-11-2016

How to Cite

Mazzoleni, E. (2016). Momus at the Fairs and the Early Boulevard Theatres: Parody in French Plays from the Ancien Régime to the Restoration Period. Elephant & Castle, (15). Retrieved from https://elephantandcastle.unibg.it/index.php/eac/article/view/263

Issue

Section

Studi e Ricerche