Theatre and Popular Opinion In Eighteenth-Century Paris :: Arts Theatre France History Historical Essays

The eighteenth century is widely reputed to have been the Age of Theatre in France. A unique form of entertainment and mass communication, theatrical productions brought together representatives from all degrees of social and economic status in one building to share a common experience. Despite an attitude that emphasized the glorification of French culture, the government viewed the theatre primarily as a form of entertainment and sought to prevent any deviation from this main emphasis. Although plays were monitored through censorship of scripts, the agents of authority made little attempt to shape popular views on specific political issues through drama. In contrast, practitioners of bourgeois drama aimed at converting the theatre into a schoolhouse for moral values and virtue in social interaction. Parisian audiences, especially those standing in the open parterre area in front of the stage, often used the theatre as a forum for voicing their own opinions on political issues. Far from being mindlessly molded by any agenda of the French playwrights or royal patrons, the spectators claimed for themselves the capacity to pass judgment on the plays presented on the stage. The Crown's formal regulation, the playwrights' didactic intention, and the spectators' vocal reactions created an interaction of control, manipulation, and political articulation in eighteenth-century Parisian theatre. From the popularity of amateur productions among the moneyed and elite to the general trend of rising ticket sales at public theatres, drama played an important role in the social life of eighteenth-century France. According to registers of attendance at the Comà ©die-Franà §aise from the 1750 to 1774, that playhouse averaged approximately 168,000 spectators each year. Since the theatre offered an opportunity to impress people of every rank, the French government could not neglect this aspect of life. The Crown assumed that the productions called for regulation, that troupes required consistent personnel, and that theatre crowds needed supervision. In 1680, Louis XIV granted monopolies on stage production to the Acadà ©mie Royale de Musique for opera, and to the Comà ©die-Franà §aise and the Comà ©die-Italienne for French and Italian language drama, respectively. The avowed purpose for establishing these theatres was "to perfect the representation of the lyric and dramatic arts for the greater glory of the French state." This objective promoted plays that extolled the monarchy and perpetuated the powerful system of privilege. In 1706, the king charged the Paris police with maintaining control and order in these playhouses. The Crown supported the three royal theatres financially and governed their management until the end of the ancien rà ©gime.