ABSTRACT
Ariane Mnouchkine’s theater work can be examined as an ongoing effort to experiment with and synthesize traditional theatrical forms in order to create something entirely new – and often totally astonishing. As she has frequently indicated, and as we have seen, she likes to dive into the diverse currents that have defined theater, especially European popular forms and Asian traditions, in order to reinterpret and recombine them, shaking up and in the process viscerally connecting actors, audience, and critics.This chapter explores the movement and the continuity in her innovative theater work by in-depth analyses of four productions: the Théâtre du Soleil’s collective creation – 1789 or The Revolution Must Only Stop at the Perfection of Happiness (1971-2); Shakespeare’s Richard II (1981); Hélène Cixous’ l’Indiade (1987); and finally Cixous’ Drums on the Dam – In the Form of an Ancient Puppet Play Performed by Actors (1999). Each of these productions, which altogether cover some thirty years of
Mnouchkine’s career, has been hailed as a theatrical milestone, resulting in Mnouchkine’s workshops being the most sought after of any in Europe by young actors from all over the world (Bradby and Delgaldo 2002: 130). Each, also, speaks cogently to more generalized tendencies in contemporary theater and theatrical development.
