ABSTRACT
From 1722 to 1726, before turning his attention to the Théâtre Français, Alexis Piron wrote or collaborated on some twenty-two plays, mostly for the Fair theatres, although three were destined for the Italians. The entrepreneurs of the Fair theatres sought ways of avoiding the bans imposed on them, but the penalty for failure could be severe: fines were imposed, theatres demolished. The events of 1720 and 1732 hold a particular interest. Opéra-comique began as an ingenious way of avoiding the laws preventing the Fairs from performing straight dialogue, but gradually established itself as the standard medium of the Fair theatres. The Fair theatres had, after all, frequently used their disputes with the authorities as a subject for their plays in such a way that the audience was drawn into a sense of collusion with the performers. A major part of the aesthetic pleasure is consequently derived from the audience's sense of participating in something that is both defiant and illicit.
