Jean Anouilh
French playwright who dominated the Parisian stage for four decades with polished, intelligent plays on classical and contemporary themes. His Antigone, staged during the Nazi occupation, was both a coded resistance text and a meditation on futile heroism. He is perhaps the most theatrical of 20th-century French dramatists.
Works
- AntigoneModern adaptation of Sophocles questioning duty and civil obedience
- BecketDrama about the conflict between Archbishop Becket and King Henry
- The LarkPlay dramatizing Joan of Arc's trial and heroic martyrdom
- The RehearsalComic play about actors rehearsing infidelity and romantic games
- Ring Round the MoonEnchanting comedy of mistaken identity and romantic entanglement
- Ring Around the MoonEnchanting comedy of mistaken identity and romantic entanglement