Collaborative Theatre

This book is concerned with the processes of making theatre employed by Ariane Mnouchkine's Paris-based Theatre du Soleil. Over the past thirty years, this company has become one of the most celebrated in Europe, and Mnouchkine one of Europe's best-known directors. However, to date, most discussion of the company's working practices and ideals has occured in French. The book's primary purpose is to provide English readers with first-hand accounts of the development of its commectivist practices and ideals. As well as critical and contextualising essays by theatre scholars from around the world, this anthology comprises writings by or interviews with members of le The D atre du Soleil, past and present. Directors, actors, designers, composer-musicians, writers - all endeavour to articulate their active engagement with theatre making as a social practice. This material focuses on five core projects, representing working methods during each of the three decades of the company's existence: from the 1970s, 1789 and L'Age d'Or ; from the 1980s, Richard II and L'Indiade ; and from the 1990s, Les Atrides . It addresses the recurrent concerns of the company: the training and prioritisation of preparation; theatre as critical re-visioning of History; the role of a director in collective work; the ethics and politics of collaboration. David Williams is a specialist in contemporary European theatre, best known for his work on Peter Brook. As a theatre director, he has a particular interest in the generative processes of theatre making. This volume is intended for tertiary-level students of theatre and performance studies, French cultural studies, as well as academic and theatre practitioners.