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French History Advance Access originally published online on January 17, 2008
French History 2008 22(1):74-93; doi:10.1093/fh/crm068
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of French History. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

‘Un rire nouveau’: Action Française and the art of political satire

Jessica Wardhaugh*

Correspondence: * Dr Jessica Wardhaugh is a Junior Research Fellow at Christ Church, Oxford, OX1 1DP, and may be contacted at jessica.wardhaugh{at}chch.ox.ac.uk.


  Abstract

Action Française was one of the most notorious political movements of the Third Republic, and its intellectual influence is widely recognized. Yet the theatre of Action Française remains almost unknown. Based on hitherto neglected archives, this article reveals the close relationship between the plays and revues of Action Française and its literary and political ambitions. First, it examines Maurice Pujo's theory of counter-revolutionary theatre and his intention to provoke a ‘new laugh’ at the Republic through the development of political satire on the classical model. Secondly, it analyses the 1907 production of Pujo's Les Nuées (modelled on Aristophanes’ The Clouds) and the subsequent development of musical revues by the Camelots du Roi. Finally, it discusses the significance of this political theatre and suggests its potential to shed light on a social and cultural life that has hitherto remained behind the scenes.


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