“Rather than the schoolmaster, the critic must be the student of the work.” 30 years ago, Eugène Ionesco died in Paris. On the occasion of this anniversary we invite you to discover a long column published in
Le Figaro Littéraire
on March 30, 1963. It is addressed to theater critics who have just harshly judged his play
Le Piéton de l'air
.
And he's not kind to them.
Its creation, staged at the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris, by Jean-Louis Barrault - who also plays the main role, Béranger - did not receive a good reception from critics. Thus Jean-Jacques Gautier wrote in
Le Figaro
of February 11, 1963: “And I who deal with theater, not with sociology, I am certain that Eugène Ionesco's play
Le Piéton de l'air
is
a failed work, a incredible dismal jumble from which the wind of the final explosion cannot sweep away the embarrassment and boredom
. A problem that no cable is strong enough to lift.”
Many negative reviews
His colleague from Le
Monde
, Bertrand Poirot-Delpech, is not…
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