Contemporary French Plays Project

With the support of a grant from the Florence Gould Foundation, foolsFURY has begun a three-year project to read, translate, and present works by leading contemporary Francophone playwrights.

Many contemporary French playwrights reflect a unique tradition of developing non-naturalistic styles and encouraging highly physical performances. We believe that there is a growing interest in and call for such work, but there are comparatively few American playwrights working in this tradition. Beyond identifying and performing exciting new French plays, we believe that such artistic collaboration is essential to revitalizing the long tradition of exchange, support and friendship that binds France and the United States.

While foolsFURY is not a Francophone theater per se, the goals and aesthetic of the company deeply reflect the work and techniques of French and French-influenced companies such as Thèâtre du Soleil, Thèâtre de la Jeune Lune, and Peter Brook’s company in residence at Les Bouffes du Nord. Several company members have trained in France and collaborated with French artists.

The first project undertaking was the translation and production of Fabrice Melquiot’s Le Diable en Partage (The Devil on All Sides), which we presented to enormous critical acclaim in San Francisco and New York (2006/7). We are pleased to announce that our next texts in translation will be two of M. Melquiot’s work for all ages, Le Monde Inoui (The Unheard of World), and L’Albatross (The Albatross).

Project Goals:

To read, translate and perform contemporary French plays, particularly those with a non-naturalistic aesthetic.
To draw attention to the cultural ties and shared artistic interests between the United States and France, and build a bridge for collaboration
To bring all of these plays to the attention of a wider audience, including local theater producers, and the broader American theatrical community
To provide top quality translation of these plays for use in future productions
Over the course of an initial three-year period, to translate at least three new works and to bring one fully crafted main stage production in San Francisco as part of foolsFURY’s 2009-2010 season

For more information on the Contemporary French Plays Project, please contact project director Michelle Haner.