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Edité par N. p. o. d. [February 1900]., 1900
Vendeur : Kotte Autographs GmbH, Roßhaupten, Allemagne
Manuscrit / Papier ancien
4to. 2½ pp. Manuscript for an article entitled "Questions sociales" that was published on 18 February 1900. In the form of a fictional dialogue between the author and a "mysterious visitor", Mirbeau writes in support of the project for the establishment of a Théâtre populaire in France. In 1899, Mirbeau had joined Romain Rolland, Maurice Pottecher, Lucien Descaves, Émile Zola, and others on a committee initiated by the Revue d'Art Dramatique for the creation of a popular theater. As proponents of the democratization of the performing arts, they demanded a return of theater to its essence and to have a popular, educational appeal detached from financial interests. The central demand in the article is a theater for every municipality with daily shows: "Thirty-six thousand is the number of municipalities in France. Each municipality must have a town hall [.] a school [.] a rural warden. It must also have a theater. And the theater will only be truly popular in France if it functions normally, on a daily basis [.]" (transl.). In defense of theater in general, Mirbeau also decries the profit-driven reductiveness of modern media, subsidized by "corrupting publicity": "While the phonograph reproduces the most admirable scenes from our classical repertoire, the cinematograph will reproduce the most thrilling scenes.".