ABSTRACT

Ariane Mnouchkine defined the subject of the Dream as "the furious god" that sleeps in the hearts of men. She found nothing funny in the text except for the delirious ending, and she made her production into a cruel and brutal psychodrama about all sorts of love except the divine. It thus became a nightmare rather than a dream. This nightmare took place in a circus ring that was divided into two equal parts, one of which was the acting area. It was covered by a carpet of goatskin, lighter at the fringe, gradually darkening higher up, where there was a wooden "curtain" through which the moon was seen. The spirits rolled, ran, and slid down the slope, while the humans entered through the gangways. Lighting was brilliant white except for the day scenes, obscure yellow shining through foliage for the night.