D’UNE PHÈDRE L’AUTRE ET LE VERTIGE DE LA REPRÉSENTATION THÉÂTRALE
D’UNE PHÈDRE L’AUTRE ET LE VERTIGE DE LA REPRÉSENTATION THÉÂTRALE

Summary/Abstract: From One Phaedra to the Next and the Vertigo of Theatrical Representation. Taking as a starting point two famous performances of Racine’s Phaedra, one at the Comédie Française in Paris (1996), the other at the Albery Theatre in London (1998), the present article explores «the crisis of representation» of the character of Phaedra at the performative level and suggests a model for a possible transcendence of this «crisis». I base my comparative analysis of the two performances and the elaboration of a new performative model, on the notion that while analyses of performances deepen our understanding of the text, so a deep understanding of the inner workings of the text are vital to the quality of a performance, and that a deeper look into the mythic origins of the character have the potential of enriching the performative choices of the actress playing this role. I develop my argument by deconstructing the very notion of «crisis of representation» and by unfolding the layers of myth and intertextuality that have lead to the creation of Racine’s Phaedra. I engage in a comparative analysis of Phaedra’s death throughout theater history, from Euripides to Seneca to Racine and develop the thesis that the character’s suicide in the Racinian play both contains and transcends the two previous ones, thus leading to a modern representation in which Phaedra takes posession of her own death and thus to a degree of her own tragic fate, thus also overcoming it.

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