In search of theatrical expressionism in France

When speaking of expressionism, we immediately, and sometimes exclusively, think of the art movement that arose in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the characteristics, which tend to manifest in art the inner world of feelings even by exasperating and deforming the data of reality, are no less realised in other countries, for example, in France. Although France ostentatiously rejects German production for political reasons, there one finds writers such as H.-R. Lenormand, S. Gantillon or J.-V. Pellerin, to name but the most important, who write in a manner that conforms to expressionist aesthetics. Their works resemble, first and foremost, Scandinavian productions, mainly those of A. Strindberg, but they also suggest the subversive pen of the young German generation in revolt against bourgeois society. In addition to the writers, it is necessary to mention the perfectly expressionistic stage productions by avant-garde directors: G. Pitoëff or G. Baty; without forgetting the extraordinary contribution of Artaud as well as the innovative research of J.-L. Barrault.

Keywords: expressionism; theatre; France; H.-R. Lenormand; S. Gantillon; J.-V. Pellerin