ABSTRACT
Fabianne Pascaud’s robust description of French director Ariane Mnouchkine sums up not only the paradoxes Mnouchkine herself cultivates but also hints at the contradictions through which she has lived. For the last half of the twentieth century and beginning of the twentyfirst have seen both the heights of entrepreneurial artistic possibilities combined with utopian social dreams, and the dizzying multiplication of military aggression, internecine warfare, political exile, and genocide. In the especially sensitive way of most artists, Mnouchkine has resonated with all these historical moments, demonstrating, moreover, in her work with the Théâtre du Soleil a dedication to engaging with history
that has never wavered. She has also evinced an extreme vulnerability and the potential for rough and tumble leadership, a selfless commitment to political militancy, and a desire for complete immersion in the creative realm. What has been constant is her unassailable practice of theater as an act of faith in humanity, gifting audience and actors with something “so incredibly rare” (Féral 1998: 159) that she has become France’s most celebrated contemporary director. Given the exceptionally male-dominated milieu of French theater, the story of her success is all the more compelling.
