From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in France

Barely theorised about in the academic world in France, the term in situ refers to very heterogeneous artistic and professional practices: from site-specific creation to programming outside of theatre walls, in a school or a public square, of an indoors-conceived show. It tends to be confused with o...

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Main Author: A. Mouton-Rezzouk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. RANEPA 2022-03-01
Series:Шаги
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Online Access:https://steps.ranepa.ru/jour/article/view/42
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author A. Mouton-Rezzouk
author_facet A. Mouton-Rezzouk
author_sort A. Mouton-Rezzouk
collection DOAJ
description Barely theorised about in the academic world in France, the term in situ refers to very heterogeneous artistic and professional practices: from site-specific creation to programming outside of theatre walls, in a school or a public square, of an indoors-conceived show. It tends to be confused with other categories — “hors les murs” (“outside walls”), “street arts”, or “creation in public space” (all disciplines combined), which do not actually cover the in situ field, and have their own sectoral specific network and issues. It also inherits missions linked to the history of cultural institutions in France. As a result, in situ performing arts practices are caught up in issues — professional, economic, political as well as aesthetic — that need to be explained. This article therefore proposes an analysis of the formation and structuring of this aesthetic and professional landscape in France, as well as the theoretical difficulties it raises, and elaborates the definition of in situ theatre as what pragmatic sociology would conceptualize as a “city”. The study considers a diachronic theoretical, critical and dramatic corpus representative of the tension between aesthetic experimentation and the socio-political stakes involved in conquering a territory. Starting in the 1910s with a Macbeth staged by Georgette Leblanc, Maurice Maeterlinck’s companion, in a former abbey, and the Théâtre du peuple in Bussang, through the turn of the 1970s–1980s, and into the present day, namely, with two in situ creations by the In Vitro collective, Tchekhov dans la ville (“Tchekhov within the city”), and Série Noire / La chambre bleue, an itinerant site-specific drama based on a “noir” novel by Simenon.
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spelling doaj-art-53d52bddb5a24f36af0a03de2bc8f6242025-07-19T15:03:26ZengRussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. RANEPAШаги2412-94102782-17652022-03-018110.22394/2412-9410-2022-81-10-2641From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in FranceA. Mouton-Rezzouk0Университет Новая СорбоннаBarely theorised about in the academic world in France, the term in situ refers to very heterogeneous artistic and professional practices: from site-specific creation to programming outside of theatre walls, in a school or a public square, of an indoors-conceived show. It tends to be confused with other categories — “hors les murs” (“outside walls”), “street arts”, or “creation in public space” (all disciplines combined), which do not actually cover the in situ field, and have their own sectoral specific network and issues. It also inherits missions linked to the history of cultural institutions in France. As a result, in situ performing arts practices are caught up in issues — professional, economic, political as well as aesthetic — that need to be explained. This article therefore proposes an analysis of the formation and structuring of this aesthetic and professional landscape in France, as well as the theoretical difficulties it raises, and elaborates the definition of in situ theatre as what pragmatic sociology would conceptualize as a “city”. The study considers a diachronic theoretical, critical and dramatic corpus representative of the tension between aesthetic experimentation and the socio-political stakes involved in conquering a territory. Starting in the 1910s with a Macbeth staged by Georgette Leblanc, Maurice Maeterlinck’s companion, in a former abbey, and the Théâtre du peuple in Bussang, through the turn of the 1970s–1980s, and into the present day, namely, with two in situ creations by the In Vitro collective, Tchekhov dans la ville (“Tchekhov within the city”), and Série Noire / La chambre bleue, an itinerant site-specific drama based on a “noir” novel by Simenon.https://steps.ranepa.ru/jour/article/view/42in situsite-specific theatrehors les mursin vitro collectivegeorgette leblancandré engelfrench theatre
spellingShingle A. Mouton-Rezzouk
From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in France
Шаги
in situ
site-specific theatre
hors les murs
in vitro collective
georgette leblanc
andré engel
french theatre
title From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in France
title_full From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in France
title_fullStr From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in France
title_full_unstemmed From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in France
title_short From site to territory: Hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in France
title_sort from site to territory hypothesis about the in situ theatre landscape in france
topic in situ
site-specific theatre
hors les murs
in vitro collective
georgette leblanc
andré engel
french theatre
url https://steps.ranepa.ru/jour/article/view/42
work_keys_str_mv AT amoutonrezzouk fromsitetoterritoryhypothesisabouttheinsitutheatrelandscapeinfrance