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''The Screens'' (french: Les Paravents) is a play by the French dramatist
Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
. Its first few productions all used abridged versions, beginning with its world premiere under
Hans Lietzau Hans Lietzau (2 September 1913 – 30 November 1991) was a German theatre director, actor, and producer. He was born in Berlin, Germany. In 1953 he directed Friedrich Schiller's ''The Robbers'', with Ernst Schröder as Karl Moor. From 1969 to 1970 ...
's direction in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in May
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...
.Dichy (1993, xxv) and White (1993, 547). Its first complete performance was staged in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
in 1964, two years before
Roger Blin Roger Blin (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 22 March 1907 – Évecquemont, France, 21 January 1984) was a French actor and director. He staged world premieres of Samuel Beckett's '' Waiting for Godot'' in 1953 and ''Endgame'' in 1957.C. J. Ackerl ...
directed its French premiere in Paris.White (1993, 547) and Savona (1981, 124).


Theme

Genet was writing the piece as a
war of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...
was being conducted in French colonial Algeria. The work has no
narrative structure Narrative structure is a literary element generally described as the structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a narrative is presented to a reader, listener, or viewer. The narrative text structures are the plot and the ...
, but comprises a series of 17 individual scenes depicting Arab insurrection against a stupid and blundering colonial power. Although the occupying army is not identified as specifically French (nor is the action intended to depict only the then-current insurgence—the French conquest of Algeria in the 1840s is also referenced), when the play was first performed in France, at the eminent Odéon theatre, Paris, in 1966 it was seen as a provocative insult to national prestige and caused serious protest demonstrations. The "screens" of the title are metaphors: in one sense, for example, they stand for on-screen television news reports filtering the realities of war, both political and physical. But they are also real stage
properties Property is the ownership of land, resources, improvements or other tangible objects, or intellectual property. Property may also refer to: Mathematics * Property (mathematics) Philosophy and science * Property (philosophy), in philosophy and ...
, mounted on rubber wheels and manipulated, as part of the action, by a visible
stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General S ...
.


Textual history

Genet began writing the play in 1955 and continued to develop it over the following few years, completing a first version in June 1958. He re-wrote the play further while in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
towards the end of 1959.Dichy (1993, xxv). Marc Barbezat's publishing company L'Arbalète published it in February 1961, after which Genet re-wrote the play again. It was first published in English by Grove Press, New York in 1962 (translated by Bernard Flechtman), with Faber and Faber publishing the UK edition the following year. In 1976, Genet published a second, revised version, which appears in the French edition of his ''Complete Works.''


Production history

The play premièred in an abridged German version in May 1961 at the Schlosspark-Theater in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, which
Hans Lietzau Hans Lietzau (2 September 1913 – 30 November 1991) was a German theatre director, actor, and producer. He was born in Berlin, Germany. In 1953 he directed Friedrich Schiller's ''The Robbers'', with Ernst Schröder as Karl Moor. From 1969 to 1970 ...
directed. A slightly revised version of the problematic German translation used in Berlin was staged by
Leon Epp Leon Epp (born 29 May 1905 in Vienna; died 21 December 1968 in Eisenstadt) was an Austrian music director, theatre director and actor. Career In 1928, aged 22, Epp featured in ''Endangered Girls'' (Gefährdete Mädchen), a 1928 Austrian silent ...
two years later at the Volkstheater in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
in 1963. Epp's interpretation emphasised the political conflict between the French and Algerians in the play.Savona (1981, 124). In 1964 in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
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 ...
staged two-thirds of the play (its first twelve scenes, in a performance that lasted for two-and-a-half hours) at the Donmar Rehearsal Rooms as part of his experimental "
Theatre of Cruelty The Theatre of Cruelty (french: Théâtre de la Cruauté, also french: Théâtre cruel) is a form of theatre generally associated with Antonin Artaud. Artaud, who was briefly a member of the surrealist movement, outlined his theories in ''The Theat ...
" season with the
Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
; he abandoned plans to stage the complete text, partly due to dissatisfaction with Bernard Frechtman's translation. There were no public performances: the rehearsal space was fitted out with seating to form an improvised theatre and the audience for the fully staged and costumed final version was by invitation only. An abridgement by
Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chur ...
, with a running time of three hours, was mounted by Walter Donohue, the RSC literary editor, at the Bristol Old Vic studio in 1973. The play's first complete performance was directed by
Per Verner Carlsson Per is a Latin preposition which means "through" or "for each", as in per capita. Per or PER may also refer to: Places * IOC country code for Peru * Pér, a village in Hungary * Chapman code for Perthshire, historic county in Scotland Math ...
at the Stadsteater in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
in 1964. Its five-hour-long production required six months of rehearsal preparation.
Roger Blin Roger Blin (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 22 March 1907 – Évecquemont, France, 21 January 1984) was a French actor and director. He staged world premieres of Samuel Beckett's '' Waiting for Godot'' in 1953 and ''Endgame'' in 1957.C. J. Ackerl ...
directed the play's French première at the Odéon theatre in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, which opened on 21 April 1966. Genet became closely involved in rehearsals and published a series of letters to Blin about the theatre, the play, and the progress of its production. André Acquart designed the sets and costumes, providing via three collapsible platforms four levels which 27 gliding screens divided into different playing areas, as wells as "sumptuous and theatrical" costumes and make-up. Madeleine Renaud played Warda,
Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundia ...
played the Mouth,
María Casares María Casares (21 November 1922 – 22 November 1996) was a Spanish-born French actress and one of the most distinguished stars of the French stage and cinema. She was credited in France as Maria Casarès. Early life Casares was born María V ...
played the Mother, and
Amidou Hamidou Benmessaoud ( ar, حميدو بنمسعود; 2 August 1935 – 19 September 2013), best known as Amidou, was a Moroccan-French film, television, and stage actor. Born in Rabat, at 17 Amidou moved to Paris to attend the CNSAD. In 1968 he m ...
played Saïd. Blin directed a German production in
Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
in November 1967.
Minos Volanakis Minos Volonakis ( el, Μίνως Βολανάκης; 1925 or 1926, Athens – 15 November 1999, Athens) was a Greek theatre director and translator.See his obituary in ''The New York Times'', November 20, 1999. He studied with Karolos Koun, for who ...
directed the play's US première in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
1971.
Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...
directed a production at the
Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers The Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, also Théâtre des Amandiers, is a theatre in Nanterre and a known theatre outside of Paris. The present building opened in 1976. The company is a ''Centre dramatique national'' (National dramatic center), a natio ...
in
Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...
, near Paris, in 1983.Dichy (1993, xxxiii-iv). In 1989
Joanne Akalaitis JoAnne Akalaitis (born June 29, 1937, in Cicero, Illinois) is an avant-garde Lithuanian-American theatre director and writer. She won five Obie Awards for direction (and sustained achievement) and was founder in 1970 of the critically acclaimed M ...
directed Paul Schmidt's translation at the
Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...
in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, with
Jesse Borrego Jesse Borrego (born August 1, 1962) is an American actor best known for his roles as Cruz Candelaria in ''Blood In Blood Out'', Jesse V. Velasquez in '' Fame'', Gael Ortega in '' 24'', and George King in ''Dexter''. Early life Jesse Borrego was ...
as Said, and music by
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
and
Foday Musa Suso Foday Musa Suso (born 9 December 1953, in Sarre Hamadi, Wuli District, in the Upper River Division of The Gambia) is a Gambian musician and composer. He is a member of the Mandinka ethnic group, and is a griot. Griots are the oral historians ...
.


References


Sources

* Dichy, Albert. 1993. "Chronology." In White (1993, xiii-xxxv). * Frechtman, Bernard, trans. 1963. ''The Screens''. By
Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
. London: Faber, 1987. . * Lavery, Carl, Clare Finburgh, and Maria Shevtsova, eds. 2006. ''Jean Genet: Performance and Politics.'' Baisingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. . * Oswald, Laura. 1989. ''Jean Genet and the Semiotics of Performance.'' Advances in Semiotics ser. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP. . * Savona, Jeannette L. 1983. ''Jean Genet''. Grove Press Modern Dramatists ser. New York: Grove P. . * Seaver, Richard, trans. 1972. ''Reflections on the Theatre and Other Writings''. By Jean Genet. London: Faber. . * Styan, J. L. 1981. ''Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd.'' Vol. 2 of ''Modern Drama in Theory and Practice.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. . * White, Edmund. 1993. ''Genet.'' Corrected edition. London: Picador, 1994. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Screens, The 1961 plays 1964 plays Plays by Jean Genet