French-Speaking Theatre Artists

Over the course of my research, several names have repeatedly come up as current theatre practitioners in the French language. Two books I have found particularly fruitful have been Contemporary French Theatre and Performance and French Theatre Today. Below is a list of playwrights and directors whose names have appeared many times and/or who I find intriguing and admirable.

• Ariane Mnouchkine
• Valère Novarina
• Olivier Py
• Philippe Minyana
• Yazmina Reza
• Souria Adèle
• Joël Pommerat
• Koffi Kwahulé
• Olivier Cadiot
• Jean-Marie Besset
• Bernard-Marie Koltès
• Marie NDiaye
• José Pliya

These artists come from France or other French-speaking areas. In terms of their influences, many of them have found inspiration in past theatre artists such as...

• Antonin Artaud
• Alfred Jarry
• Samuel Beckett
• Eugène Ionesco
• Jean Genet