Sartre’s Theatre: Acts for Life (Modern French Identities) (v. 34)

Published on the eve of the philosopher-playwright s centenary, this study offers a wide-ranging re-appraisal of Sartre s complete dramatic opus, from the inaugural nativity play, Bariona (1940), to the swan-song chorus of Armageddon, Les Troyennes (1965). It draws on a close reading of Sartre s writings in philosophy, literature and criticism, and provides an extensive survey of journalistic and academic reception. Each play is situated in relation both to Sartre s intellectual evolution and to the broader historical context. This is the first full-length study in English, for more than thirty years, covering the whole of Sartre s theatre, and it will interest students of twentieth-century European drama, as well as those of modern French literature and ideas.