On the job: from Brussels to Paris, from mentors to idols, Juliette Drouet's European lifelong actor training (1828-1833)

Authors

  • Florence Naugrette Sorbonne Université Paris

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62336/unibg.eac.33.502

Keywords:

Juliette Drouet, Théâtre du Parc, actor training, Victor Hugo, Bruxelles

Abstract

This article explores the overlooked career of Juliette Drouet, frequently reduced to her role as Victor Hugo's companion. It highlights the period between 1828 and 1833 when Juliette, after promising beginnings at the Théâtre du Parc in Brussels, rapidly ascended to success in Paris, playing notable roles at the Théâtre du Vaudeville, Porte-Saint-Martin, and the Odéon. Despite her impressive trajectory, her career concluded in 1833 after a setback during the premiere of Marie Tudor. The article reveals the reasons for Juliette Drouet's obscurity, including her relationship with Hugo and the gossip circulated by her contemporaries.

Author Biography

Florence Naugrette, Sorbonne Université Paris

Florence Naugrette is a Full Professor of Theatre History and Theory (XIXth-XXIst centuries) at Sorbonne University. She specializes in nineteenth-century theatre, particularly the Romantic era, and has authored a book on audience enjoyment of theatre. Her studies cover various figures, including Victor Hugo, Musset, Dumas, Mérimée, Renan, Offenbach, Rostand, and Sardou, along with twentieth and twenty-first-century figures such as Claudel, Jean Vilar, Cocteau, and Ivo van Hove. Her research seminars focus on the historical and political aspects of theatre, as well as contemporary productions. Naugrette directs two digital humanities programs: the nineteenth-century section of the Registres de la Comédie-Française (in collaboration with Nanterre University, MIT, NYU, Comédie-Française, and the University of Victoria) and the publication of Juliette Drouet's letters to Victor Hugo (in collaboration with the University of Rouen).

Downloads

Published

15-07-2024

How to Cite

Naugrette, F. (2024). On the job: from Brussels to Paris, from mentors to idols, Juliette Drouet’s European lifelong actor training (1828-1833). Elephant & Castle, (33), 97–103. https://doi.org/10.62336/unibg.eac.33.502

Issue

No. 33 (2024): The Circulation of Actor Knowledge in 18th and 19th Century Europe

Section

Articoli

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Elephant & Castle

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.