Abstract EN:

In the course of history, thetra has developed because its authors, directors, actors and techniques have sought abroad new territories of experience and new challenges to be taken up. The present study first explores the historical evolution of the modes of circulation of plays, then singles out the notion of stage direction which appeared at the end of the XIXth century as the decisive element in the shaping of dramatic art it is practiced in France today. Because the dominant influence of directors broke with the prevailing codes of the period, theatre had to circulate, both in France and abroad, in search of new support and new audeinces. Our analysis of these pioneering experiences aims at producing two models based on translation and diffusion. These models are borrowed and freely adapted from the sociology of sciences; their purpose is to analyse how a project involving the circulation of theatrical works takes shape today, from the stage production of a play to its reception abroad. The rationale of diffusion and the strategic choices of works translated determine the fate of theatrical works within cultural exchanges, but they also give an insight into the way France's foreign cultural policy is conceived, its present course and, possibly, its future.