ABSTRACT
It is left to the private theatres to stage most works by contemporary authors, both French and foreign. It is not unusual for an author who is little or not at all well known to be discovered in the private theatre. Brecht was brought back into the spotlight to mark the centenary of his birth, and we saw some particularly violent plays by young British playwrights or Austrian ones. It also shows in re-readings of the classics, most prominently Shakespeare's political plays and the Greek tragedies. The mixing of disciplines has come about gradually in the last few years thanks to the exchanges of theatrical culture and practice that has occurred more specifically in France thanks to the growing influence of models and techniques borrowed from Africa and the Far East. A remarkable phenomenon of the last few years is the strong representation of women among the ranks of playwrights, directors and even theatre administrators.
