The First Frame Theatre Space in Enlightenment France [Paperback]

A unique account of the way architects, dramatists, and philosophers transformed theatre space in the eighteenth century.Drawing on philosophy, dramatic theory, and architecture, this is the only book in English about the modernisation of French playhouses before the Revolution. Exploring theatre architecture reform in France as part of a broader cultural phenomenon, it will be of interest to students of theatre, architecture, and the Enlightenment.Drawing on philosophy, dramatic theory, and architecture, this is the only book in English about the modernisation of French playhouses before the Revolution. Exploring theatre architecture reform in France as part of a broader cultural phenomenon, it will be of interest to students of theatre, architecture, and the Enlightenment.In the late eighteenth century, a movement to transform France's theatre architecture united the nation. Playwrights, philosophers, and powerful agents including King Louis XV rejected the modified structures that had housed the plays of Racine and Moli?re, and debated which playhouse form should support the future of French stagecraft. In The First Frame, Pannill Camp argues that these reforms helped to lay down the theoretical and practical foundations of modern theatre space. Examining dramatic theory, architecture, and philosophy, Camp explores how architects, dramatists, and spectators began to see theatre and scientific experimentation as parallel enterprises. During this period of modernisation, physicists began to cite dramatic theory and adopt theatrical staging techniques, while playwrights sought to reveal observable truths of human nature. Camp goes on to show that these reforms had consequences for the way we understand both modern theatrical aesthetics and the production of scientific knowledge in the present day.Introduction: the 'first frame' of Enlightenment theatre space; 1. The divided scene of theatre space in the Neo-classical era; 2. The theatrical frame in French Neo-classilw