Politiques de la scène : une analyse comparative des scènes contemporaines de théâtre entre Montréal et Berlin
This thesis offers a critical perspective on the political aspects of contemporary theatre in Quebec by using a comparative perspective with German theatre, with a particular focus on the cities of Montreal and Berlin. The author explores staging methods, gestures, and various strategies used by theatre artists to adopt political stances through theatre such as : the use of the real, translation, adaptation, and irony. The connection between Montreal and Berlin is highlighted through various gestures but also through the historical and symbolic role Germany has long held for Québécois theatre artists. This analysis will take into account a corpus of recent productions subject to international presentation : ("Le NoShow" (2013) from the artist collective Nous Sommes Ici and the Bunker theatre, "Fear" (2015) by Falk Richter, "100% Montréal" (2017) by Rimini Protokoll, Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" staged in 2016 by Angela Konrad, "Ein Volksfeind" by Henrik Ibsen staged in 2012 by Thomas Ostermeier and "Dans la République du bonheur" by Martin Crimp staged in 2015 by Christian Lapointe). Drawing on the author’s own experiences working as a dramaturg in Quebec, the thesis adopts an intermedial approach in order to explore the political aspects of the aforementioned works ; thus, it looks at what traditions are conveyed and what aesthetics are deployed through staging, as well as a host of other mechanisms, whose aim it is to garner audience sympathies. This intermedial approach will also shed a light on those elements by using the context of production, the institutional operations of theatres as to how they are financed, and the power relationships within the performing arts sector. By determining the contradictions in the studied works, this thesis will critique the politics of contemporary theatre through a practical methodology.
contemporary theatre political theatre Québec theatre German theatre intermediality cultural policies