Prolegomenon for a Theory of Drama Reception: Peter Brook's Measure for Measure and the Emergent Bourgeoisie

Authors

Wolfgang Sohlich, University of Oregon

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, the first paragraph of the essay follows:

This is an attempt to define the audience of Peter Brook's 1979 Paris production of Measure for Measure at the Bouffes du Nord by defining its style. The production of the text in modern French translation was not vintage Brook; however, there are at least two good reasons for submitting it to closer scrutiny. First, it is a production which addresses itself to a relatively new public-not popular audiences, not the intellectual left, not sectors of the traditional French bourgeoisie, but emergent and dynamic sectors of a bourgeoisie which have generally been associated with the structural mutations French society has experienced since the sixties.¹ Secondly, I wish to apply, at least in its general outlines, the premises of Pierre Bourdieu's sociology of taste to the study of the relationships between styles of productions and audiences.²

Recommended Citation

Sohlich, Wolfgang (1984) "Prolegomenon for a Theory of Drama Reception: Peter Brook's Measure for Measure and the Emergent Bourgeoisie," Comparative Drama: Vol. 18: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/compdr/vol18/iss1/4