Revue d'histoire du théâtre

Revue d'histoire du théâtre
Title	Revue d'histoire du théâtre
Discipline	Theatre history
Language	French
Publisher	Société d'histoire du théâtre
Country	France
Frequency	Annual
History	1978–present

Revue d'histoire du théâtre is a French scholarly journal devoted to the historical study of theatrical performance, dramatic literature, performance practice, scenography, and institutions. Founded in the late 20th century, the journal situates research on stages, troupes, playwrights, architects, and impresarios within European, colonial, and global networks. It has engaged with archives, iconography, and material culture to reinterpret periods from Renaissance Italy to Modernism and Postwar theatre.

History

The journal emerged amid historiographical shifts that involved figures and movements such as Jacques Copeau, Antoine Vitez, Jean Vilar, Comédie-Française, Théâtre du Gymnase, Bouffes-Parisiens, and debates sparked by productions at Théâtre du Châtelet and Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe. Early issues addressed archival discoveries linked to archives in Bibliothèque nationale de France, collections of the Musée Carnavalet, and estate papers associated with Molière, Voltaire, Pierre Corneille, and Jean Racine. Subsequent volumes tracked comparative work involving Elizabethan theatre, Commedia dell'arte, Spanish Golden Age theatre, and the legacies of designers such as Giacomo Torelli and Adolphe Appia.

Scope and Themes

The journal's remit covers dramaturgy tied to playwrights and institutions including William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Lope de Vega, Federico García Lorca, Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud, and Samuel Beckett, while also considering scenographic practices connected to architects and designers like Inigo Jones, Sérgio Bernardes, Adolf Loos, and Le Corbusier. Studies have probed performance networks involving companies such as Comédie-Italienne, Royal Shakespeare Company, Maly Theatre, and touring circuits associated with impresarios like Sarah Bernhardt and Constantin Stanislavski. Thematic issues have explored period topics including court entertainments for Louis XIV, revolutionary festivals of French Revolution, colonial theatre in Algeria and Indochina, gender in performance with reference to figures like Euripides, Christopher Marlowe, and Lady Augusta Gregory, and interdisciplinary interfaces with music tied to composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Claudio Monteverdi, Igor Stravinsky, and Richard Wagner.

Editorial Structure and Publication Details

Published by the Société d'histoire du théâtre in coordination with university presses and cultural institutions such as Université Paris-Sorbonne, École des Chartes, and municipal archives of Paris, the editorial board blends historians, archivists, and practitioners. Editors have included scholars affiliated with institutions like Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Collège de France, Université de Strasbourg, and École normale supérieure. Each annual issue typically contains peer-reviewed articles, critical editions of archival documents, annotated correspondences tied to personalities such as Molière and Edmond Rostand, and reviews of exhibitions at venues like Palais Garnier and the Musée d'Orsay. The journal operates a submission process consistent with scholarly standards upheld by bodies such as Association internationale de théâtre francophone and adheres to editorial workflows comparable to journals like Revue des études italiennes and Modern Language Review.

Notable Contributors and Articles

Contributors have included researchers linked to projects on Commedia dell'arte masks, studies of autograph manuscripts by Jean Racine and Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, and archival essays concerning theater inventories from Versailles and provincial houses in Bordeaux and Lyon. Noteworthy articles have examined staging practices of Molière’s troupe, probate inventories revealing costume economies associated with François-Joseph Talma, analyses of nineteenth-century melodrama connected to Alexandre Dumas père and Victor Hugo, and modernist scenography in relation to Vsevolod Meyerhold and Gordon Craig. Special issues have attracted contributions on shadow theatre traditions, cabaret cultures linked to Le Chat Noir and Moulin Rouge, and intercultural exchanges with Kabuki and Noh practitioners.

Reception and Impact

The journal is cited in scholarship addressing theatrical historiography, archival methodology, and performance reconstruction. It has influenced curatorial practice at institutions such as Comédie-Française, Théâtre de la Ville, and national museums, and informed pedagogy at conservatories including Conservatoire de Paris and drama departments at Université de Lyon III and King's College London. Reviews in periodicals tied to the theatre community have noted its contributions to reassessing canonical figures such as Molière and Brecht and to elevating neglected archives from regional repositories in Normandy and Brittany. The journal's essays have been referenced in exhibition catalogues for retrospectives on Sarah Bernhardt, Colette, and movements like Symbolism and Surrealism.

Indexing and Availability

The publication is indexed in bibliographic services and databases used by scholars of theatrical history, including catalogs maintained by Bibliothèque Nationale de France, university library networks at Sorbonne Université, and international union catalogues like WorldCat. Back issues are available in research libraries such as the holdings of British Library, New York Public Library, and archives linked to Royal Library of Belgium, and digitized selections appear in institutional repositories managed by Gallica and university presses connected to Presses Universitaires de France. Subscription and acquisition are handled through academic distributors serving museums, conservatories, and archives.

Category:Theatre journals Category:French-language journals Category:History of theatre