Theatre de Poche

by Jean Cocteau

[This book is written in French.] Par Théâtre de poche il faut entendre théâtre mineur, des textes faciles à exécuter sur les planches où de jeunes talents pourront mettre en lumière un aspect dramatique de leur personnalité. Édités en 1955, ces textes laissent affleurer la personnalité si attachante de Cocteau: sa verve, son humour, son sens du clin d'oeil et du portrait. The term "pocket theater" is to be understood as little theater, texts that are easy to perform on stages where young talents can focus on dramatic aspects of their personalities. Published in 1955, these texts allow Cocteau's engaging personality to come to the fore: his verve, his humor, his ability to wink an eye and paint a portrait.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

172 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager, playwright and filmmaker. Along with other Surrealists of his generation (Jean Anouilh and René Char for example) Cocteau grappled with the "algebra" of verbal codes old and new, mise en scène language and technologies of modernism to create a paradox: a classical avant-garde. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Colette, Édith Piaf, whom he cast in one of his one act plays entitled Le Bel Indifferent in 1940, and Raymond Radiguet.

His work was played out in the theatrical world of the Grands Theatres, the Boulevards and beyond during the Parisian epoque he both lived through and helped define and create. His versatile, unconventional approach and enormous output brought him international acclaim.