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THEATER AND REVOLUTION ALSO BY FREDERICK BROWN An Impersonation of Angels: A Biography of Jean Cocteau Père-Lachaise: Elysium as Real Estate THEATER A N D REVOLUTION THE CULTURE OF THE FRENCH STAGE FREDERICK BROWN Vintage Books A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE, INC. NEW YORK First Vintage Books Edition, May 1989 Copyright © 1980 by Frederick Brown All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published, in hardcover, by The Viking Press, New York, in 1980. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brown, Frederick, 1934— Theater and revolution. Reprint. Originally published: New York: Viking Press, 1980. Includes bibliographical references and index. i. Theater—France—History. 2. Theater and society—France. 3. France—History—Revolution, 1789—1799.1. Title. [PN2631.B7 1989] 792'.0994 88-40509 ISBN 0-679-72253-X (pbk.) Page 492 constitutes an extension of this copyright page. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 987654321 TO HILTON KRAMER ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities re lieved me of teaching duties during the 1975-76 academic year and en abled me to pursue my subject without interruption. The University Awards Council of the State University of New York provided me with a grant-in-aid to do research in Paris. The staffs of the Cabinet des Estampes at the Bibliothèque Na tionale and of the Bibliothèque de 1’Arsenal were indispensable, the one in arranging to reproduce illustrations, the other in helping me interpret the catalogue of the Rondel theater collection, where I found much useful material. For their cooperation I should like to thank Yves Bonnat of the Centre Français du Théâtre, Gerhard Vasco of the SUNY at Stony Brook Library, and Charles Webber, director of the photo-optics laboratory at Stony Brook. I owe a debt of gratitude to Jennifer Snodgrass and to Georgette Felix for the valuable assistance they gave me at The Viking Press. This book profited enormously from conversation with friends and, in particular, from conversations I have had over the years with my colleague Carol Blum. To them and to her I am deeply grateful. It was, finally, my good fortune to be able to rely on the editorial wisdom of Elisabeth Sifton, who offered me guidance when I needed it and read my manuscript with fine critical intelligence.