Why this topic, why these plays
The plays gathered under "France" share a recurring thematic preoccupation that, across 8 different scripts in our archive, has produced a remarkable variety of theatrical solutions. Reading them in proximity to one another is one of the more useful comparative exercises a student of dramatic writing can do, because the contrasts in tone, structure, and resolution show how much choice a playwright really has, even when the underlying subject is the same. The list below collects the works in our library that catalogue indexers identified with this subject; in some cases the connection is overt and in others oblique, but in every case the thematic affinity is real and worth pursuing.
All plays on this topic (8)
- Saint Joan — by Bernard Shaw
- Cyrano de Bergerac — by Edmond Rostand
- Cyrano de Bergerac: An Heroic Comedy in Five Acts — by Edmond Rostand
- The Maid of Orleans: A Tragedy — by Friedrich Schiller
- The Unforseen Return — by Jean-François Regnard
- The Middle-Class Gentleman — by Molière
- The Pretentious Young Ladies — by Molière
- The Shopkeeper Turned Gentleman — by Molière