What is the Theatre?

Christian Biet is Professor of Performing Arts, Theatrical and Drama Aesthetics and French Studies, University of Paris-Nanterre and the Institut Universitaire de France. He is also a regular visiting professor at NYU, and a member of the editorial committee of the French theatrical review Theatre/Public and of Litteratures classiques. Recent books include Theatre de la cruaute et recits sanglants (France XVIe-XVIIe siecle) [Theatre of Cruelty and Bloody Stories (France, from the End of the Sixteenth Century to the Beginning of the Seventeenth)] (2006), Tragedies et recits de martyres (France, fin XVIe-debut XVIIe siecle) [Tragedies and Martyrs' Tales (France, from the End of the Sixteenth Century to the Beginning of the Seventeenth)] with M.-M. Fragonard (2009) and Le Theatre du XVIIe siecle [Seventeenth-Century Theatre] (2009). He has recently worked on several issues of Theatre/Public including topics covering Chinese theatre, "Penser le Spectateur" ["Thinking About the Spectator"] (no. 208, May 2013); Flemish performance, "Carte Blanche a Olivier Py" ["Carte Blance for Olivier Py"] (no. 213, June 2014); and repertory, "Le repertoire aujourd'hui" ["Stock Theatre Today"] (no. 225, June 2017); and also an issue of Communications on the theoretical question of performance (no. 92, 2013).

Christophe Triau is Professor of Theatrical Studies at the University of Paris-Nanterre. He also works as a dramaturge. His PhD was on seventeenth-century French theatre, and his work now focuses mostly on contemporary theatre, especially dramaturgy and aesthetics of stage direction. He has edited many collective publications and issues of reviews such as Alternatives theatrales (and is a member of its editorial committee) and Theatre/Public (in particular, the biannual "Etats de la scene actuelle" issues, in collaboration with O. Neveux) and has written widely about contemporary stage directors, most recently a book on Joel Pommerat's Cendrillon (2013).