French Literature Reviews - 2026

Theatre: Text and Performance
Theatre and Performance

Published July 2003

Alexis and Camille de Hillerin, Theatre: Text and Performance
Paris, PUF, coll. Major, 231 p., 11 euros (ISBN: 2-13-053278-0)

Serving both as a performance space and as a text intended for recitation and pantomime, theatre is a complex "object of study" in which writing proves above all to be the writing of spectacle itself... Continuing the approach of the series, this volume invites students to explore theatre through lectures, textual analysis, and essays, thereby fully preparing them for the requirements of the French baccalaureate literature examination.

Camille and Alexis de Hillerin, holders of the agrégation in Modern Literature, teach at the lycée in Poissy and in preparatory classes at the Centre Madeleine Daniélou in Rueil-Malmaison.

Within the French educational system, the study of drama has long occupied a distinctive place, bridging the gap between written literature and ephemeral performance. Dramatic texts function simultaneously as autonomous works of literature and as blueprints for theatrical realization on stage. This dual nature requires students of the humanities to master both close textual analysis and an understanding of staging conventions, performance spaces, and directorial choices.

Readers interested in pedagogical approaches to dramatic arts and preparation for advanced literature examinations may find it a relevant resource. The authors, holders of the agrégation in Modern Literature, teach at the lycée in Poissy and in preparatory classes at the Centre Madeleine Daniélou in Rueil-Malmaison.