ABSTRACT
Unlike in other major currents of modern French thought from symbolism to absurdism, the theatre is often absent from narratives of deconstruction. To say that Lacoue-Labarthe's investigations are principally concerned with 'theatre' is therefore to make assumptions that he strove to avoid. In this light, it is more fitting simply to present his interest and activities as concerning the 'stage'. The minimal quality of this description is better suited to his reflections on fundamental tensions between physical presence and speech; and indeed it features as the title of a text in which he discusses these questions with Nancy, named 'Scene: un echange de lettres'. This division of labour would appear to be borne out in their approaches to the stage; Nancy is happier to accept that the retrait or withdrawing from myth, figuration, or fiction is at the same time a re/trait or re-drawing. In the area of Lacoue-Labarthe's contribution, there is a common motif driving these two projects.
