Patrice Pavis (born 1947) was Professor for Theatre Studies at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

in Canterbury, England (UK), where he retired at the end of the academic year 2015/16. He has written extensively about

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

, focusing his study and research mainly in

semiology Semiotics (also called semiotic studies) is the systematic study of sign processes (semiosis) and meaning making. Semiosis is any activity, conduct, or process that involves signs, where a sign is defined as anything that communicates something, ...

and

interculturalism Interculturalism is a political movement that supports cross-cultural dialogue and challenging self-segregation tendencies within cultures.John Nagle, Multiculturalism's Double-Bind: Creating Inclusivity Cosmopolitanism and Difference. Ashgate Pub ...

in theatre. He was awarded the Georges Jamati Prize in 1986.

Academic Positions

Patrice Pavis was previously

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Theatre Studies Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychobiological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also e ...

at Paris VIII University.

Concept of "verbo-corps"

In 1987, Pavis suggested a new theory regarding the translation of dramatic works. The idea of 'verbo-corps' has been described as "highly theoretical" and criticized for leaving "a gap between theory and translatory practice which cannot be closed". The theory suggests a culture-specific union between language and gesture used subconsciously by every writer. Pavis suggested that the translator needed to be able to comprehend the union in the original and reconstruct it in the translation.

''Mahābhārata''

When director

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

produced his collaboration of ''

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' with

Jean-Claude Carrière Jean-Claude Carrière (; 17 September 1931 – 8 February 2021) was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing '' Heureux Anniversaire'' (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary ...

, Pavis criticized the adaptation of the Indian epic for promoting a cultural "Disney homogenization and uniformity".

Published works

* ''Problèmes de sémiologie théâtrale'', Presses de l'Université du Québec (1976) * ''Languages of the Stage: Essays in the Semiology of Theatre'', PAJ Publications (1982) * ''Voix et images de la scène: vers une sémiologie de la réception'', Presses universitaires de Lille (1985) * ''

Marivaux Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist. He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing nume ...

à l'épreuve de la scène'', Université de Paris-III (1986) * ''Dictionnaire du Theatre'', Messidors/Editions Sociales (1987) * ''Le théâtre au croisement des cultures'', Jose Corti (1990) * ''The Intercultural Performance Reader'', Routledge (1996) (Ed.) * ''L'analyse des spectacles: théâtre, mime, danse, danse-théâtre, cinéma'', Armand Colin (2005) * ''La mise en scène contemporaine: origines, tendances, perspectives'', Armand Colin (2007) * ''Dictionnaire de la performance et du théâtre contemporain'', Armand Colin (2014) Presentation of the book on the publisher web site
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References

External links

* Patrice Pavis profile at the University of Ken

Living people Academics of the University of Kent Theatrologists 1947 births {{UK-academic-bio-stub