Jean-Louis Laya (4 December 1761, Paris – 25 August 1833,

Meudon Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...

) was a French playwright. He wrote his first comedy in collaboration with

Gabriel-Marie Legouvé Gabriel Marie Jean Baptiste Legouvé (23 June 1764 – 30 August 1812) was an 18th–19th-century French poet and playwright. Legouvé was born and died in Paris, and was the seventh member elected to occupy seat 4 of the Académie française in ...

in 1785. The piece, however, though accepted by the Comédie française, was never represented. In 1789 he produced a plea for religious toleration in the form of a five-act tragedy in verse, '' Jean Calas''. In his next work, the injustice of the disgrace cast on a family by the crime of one of its members formed the theme of ''Les Dangers de l'opinion'' (1790). It is by his ''Ami des lois'' (1793) that Laya is best remembered. This energetic protest against

mob rule Mob rule or ochlocracy ( el, ὀχλοκρατία, translit=okhlokratía; la, ochlocratia) is the rule of government by a mob or mass of people and the intimidation of legitimate authorities. Insofar as it represents a pejorative for majori ...

, with its scarcely veiled characterizations of Robespierre as Nomophage and of

Marat Marat may refer to: People *Marat (given name) *Marat (surname) **Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), French political theorist, physician and scientist Arts, entertainment, and media *''Marat/Sade'', a 1963 play by Peter Weiss * ''Marat/Sade'' (fil ...

as Duricrne, was an act of the highest courage, for the play was produced at the Théâtre Français (temporarily Théâtre de la Nation) only nineteen days before the execution of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. Ten days after its first production the piece was prohibited by the

Commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

, but the public demanded its representation; the

mayor of Paris The Mayor of Paris (french: Maire de Paris) is the chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to the C ...

was compelled to appeal to the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

, and the piece was played while some 30,000 Parisians guarded the hall. Laya went into hiding, and several persons convicted of having a copy of the obnoxious play in their possession were

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

d. At the end of the Terror Laya returned to Paris. In 1813 he replaced Delille in the Paris chair of literary history and French poetry; he was admitted to the Académie française in 1817. Laya produced in 1797 ''Les Deux Stuarts'', and in 1799 ''Falkland'', the title-role of which provided Talma with one of his finest opportunities. Laya's works, which chiefly owe their interest to the circumstances attending their production, were collected in 1836-1837. His son, Léon Laya, Léon, was also a playwright.

Works

Theatre

*1790: ''Les Dangers de l'opinion'', drama in 5 acts, in verse, Théâtre Français, Théâtre de la Nation, 19 January *1790: '' Jean Calas'', tragedy in 5 acts and in verse, Paris, Théâtre de la Nation, 18 December *1793: ''L'Ami des lois'', comedy in 5 acts in verse, Paris, Théâtre de la Nation, 2 Januar
read online
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Gallica
*1798: ''Falkland, ou La conscience'', drama in five acts in prose, Paris, Théâtre-Français, 25 May *1799: ''Une Journée du jeune Néron'', comedy burlesque in 2 acts and in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Odéon, 15 February

Trivia

*1789: ''Voltaire aux Français, sur leur constitution'' (1789) *1789: ''La Régénération des comédiens en France, ou leurs droits à l'état civil'' (1789) *1793: ''Almanach sur l'état des comédiens en France, ou leurs droits défendus comme citoyens, par l'auteur de « L'Ami des lois »'' *1836: ''Œuvres complètes. Études sur l'histoire littéraire de l'antiquité grecque et latine, et sur les premiers siècles de la littérature française''

References

* * ''Notice biographique sur J. L. Laya'' (1833) * Charles Nodier, ''Discours de reception'', (December 26, 1833) * Welschinger, ''Théâtre de la revolution'' (1880).

External links

Jean-Louis Laya
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Laya, Jean-Louis 1761 births 1833 deaths Writers from Paris Members of the Académie Française Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights