Intérieur - Maurice Maeterlinck

Printed

36 pages

Author(s)

Intérieur

Maurice Maeterlinck | 1894 | Ghent, Belgium
Genre (as defined by the author)
Drame
Characters
Le Vieillard, L'Étranger, Marthe, Marie, Un Paysan, Foule, Le Père, La Mère, Les deux Filles, L’Enfant
Number of acts
1
Note

Intérieur is the second of the Trois petits drames pour marionnettes published by Maeterlinck in 1894. It exemplifies the theory of a “static drama” developped by the author in his essay The Tragic in Daily Life (The Treasure of the Humble, 1896).

Most often performed by actors, the play was staged as a puppet show at the New Marionette Theatre in London in 1909.

Plot summary

The last peaceful moments of a family who are about to learn terrible news

A Stranger discovers the body of a drowned young girl. Accompanied by an Old Man, he observes by a lighted window the quiet life of the family to which he has to tell the news to as as the procession carrying the drowned girl's body is getting closer.

Composition date
1894

First performance

Paris, France, 15 mars 1895 -

Nouveau Théâtre, mise en scène de Sardou

Publications and translations

Publication

Maurice Maeterlinck. Trois petits drames pour marionnettes. Bruxelles: Edmond Deman, 1894.

Modern edition

Maurice Maeterlinck. Trois petits drames pour marionnettes. Bruxelles: Espace Nord, 2015.

Language
French
Literary tones
Dramatic, Tragic
Audience
Not specified
Licence
Public domain

Key-words

Theatrical techniques

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Written by

Didier Plassard