monday 16 february 2026 - 18h00
What the hell kind of theater history are we talking about? #5
with Charlotte Bouteille, lecturer in theatre studies at Paris Nanterre University and Tiphaine Karsenti, professor of theatre studies at Paris Nanterre University.
Free with reservation
Duration 2h
event in French
Theater in France during the Wars of Religion: when the stage resonates with the violence of the present.
Long perceived as an embryonic form of the classical monuments of the “Grand Siècle”, the French theater of the second half of the sixteenth century has been little studied, and even less performed. But if we abandon the narrative constructed by literary history, we discover a laboratory of forms, exploring the possibilities offered by the rediscovery of antiquity, and developing dramaturgies in tune with the political, ethical and religious upheavals and questionings of the period, marked by the outbreaks of civil war between Catholics and Protestants. By re-reading this theater as a performative practice worked by the affects and violence of its time, we will ask how these plays were able to contribute to thinking, influencing and metabolizing a traumatic experience that was then often described as “tragic”.
What the Hell Kind of Theater History Are We Talking About?*
Throughout the season, this cycle of 8 encounters will bring together artists, historians, and researchers in performing arts. These meetings will provide opportunities to question theater history, explore its margins, and shed light on its lesser-known areas.
A chance to (re)discover certain forgotten or understudied aspects, but also to reflect collectively on how such a history is constructed.
- What the Hell Kind of Theater History Are We Talking About? #1: The Matrimonies of the 20th Century, Monday, September 29, 2025 at 6 PM
- What the Hell Kind of Theater History Are We Talking About? #2: Theater in Iran, the Shiraz Arts Festival, Monday, October 13, 2025 at 6 PM
- What the Hell Kind of Theater History Are We Talking About? #3: Berlin, 1990s – The Volksbühne and the "Patchwork of Minorities," Monday, November 17, 2025 at 6 PM
- What the Hell Kind of Theater History Are We Talking About? #4: Theater in France during the Wars of Religion: when the stage resonates with the violence of the present. Monday, February 160, 2026 at 6 PM
*quote from Angélica Liddell
*quote Angelica Liddell