Contemporary Play Creation, Between Postdramatic Legacy and Scenic Narrative

Abstract

Although plays used to be organized by narrative structures since the antiquity, the calling into question of those structures in the mid-20th century made  more and more difficult the logical construction of the narrative. In addition, the evolution of the producer’s functions and role, the common made  creations development, the use of intermediality have deeply altered the way of considering the narrative modes. The present-day theatre which is more  diverse within its aesthetics and ways of performing evicts the text and the fable. The performances benefit from this eviction and propose split or various  processed based narratives. By studying three hybrid representative plays from the contemporary theatre – Blockbuster by Le Collectif Mensuel, Le Vivier  des noms by Valère Novarina, and Donnez-moi donc un corps! by Sarah Oppenheim –, it is intended to first understand the role that the text still has, to  identify the “vestiges” of a classical narrative structure, even if it is disarticulated and only works by juxtaposition and interlocking. As the contemporary  plays minimize the text influence compared with other scenic media expressions, whether it is by the use of intermidiality or visual, sensible theatre, the  postdramatic aesthetic legacy and the functioning of the new narrative techniques used will then be studied. These statements will lead us to evaluate the  impact of these shows on the audience and to wonder how it can be invested in the play.