René de Obaldia
Encyclopedia
René de Obaldia is a French playwright and poet. He was elected to the Académie française
June 24, 1999.
He grew up in Paris, studying at the Lycée Condorcet
before being mobilised for the army in 1940. Taken prisoner, he was sent to Stalag VIII C (in Sagan). He was then sent to the lighter making area in Kransdyhernfurt on the 26th of June 1940, then to a commando at Auras-sur-Oder to clear a forest. Even in the worst moments of this ordeal, he kept his special sense of humour. He was repatriated in 1944.
He began his career in 1960, thanks to Jacques Vilar, who presented his first major play, "Génousie," at the Théâtre national populaire. This was followed by Le Satyre de la Villette, with André Barsacq at the Théâtre de l'Atelier
, a comedy which ranked him with his literary forebears Jacques Audiberti, Ionesco, Beckett. He has been, for more than fifty years, one of the most-produced French playwrights on the planet, as well as the most internationally renowned (having been translated into 28 languages).
Critics have admired the remarkable ease of Obaldia's style. His plays always take place within a framework of contemporary times and concern modern subjects, treating these in a comical manner. In La Génousie, for example, Obaldia replaces normal speech (in French) with Genousian, a language of fantasy, dreams, and love.
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
June 24, 1999.
He grew up in Paris, studying at the Lycée Condorcet
Lycée Condorcet
The Lycée Condorcet is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's IXe arrondissement. Since its inception, various political eras have seen it given a number of different names, but its identity today honors the memory of the Marquis de Condorcet. The...
before being mobilised for the army in 1940. Taken prisoner, he was sent to Stalag VIII C (in Sagan). He was then sent to the lighter making area in Kransdyhernfurt on the 26th of June 1940, then to a commando at Auras-sur-Oder to clear a forest. Even in the worst moments of this ordeal, he kept his special sense of humour. He was repatriated in 1944.
He began his career in 1960, thanks to Jacques Vilar, who presented his first major play, "Génousie," at the Théâtre national populaire. This was followed by Le Satyre de la Villette, with André Barsacq at the Théâtre de l'Atelier
Théâtre de l'Atelier
The Théâtre de l'Atelier is a theater at 1, place Charles Dullin in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.-History:Opened on November 23, 1822 under the name Théâtre Montmartre this theater was one of the first built by Pierre-Jacques Seveste, who held the license to operate theaters outside the town...
, a comedy which ranked him with his literary forebears Jacques Audiberti, Ionesco, Beckett. He has been, for more than fifty years, one of the most-produced French playwrights on the planet, as well as the most internationally renowned (having been translated into 28 languages).
Critics have admired the remarkable ease of Obaldia's style. His plays always take place within a framework of contemporary times and concern modern subjects, treating these in a comical manner. In La Génousie, for example, Obaldia replaces normal speech (in French) with Genousian, a language of fantasy, dreams, and love.