Louise H. Forsyth
Le Théâtre is a children's book about being a player in the theatre. Delightfully written and illustrated, it cannot fail to stir the imaginative creativity of youngsters who dream of inhabiting other places, assuming other forms, making a spectacle. The book is also a fine introduction to what theatre is-its various elements and how they relate to everyday reality. The book speaks the language of today's children, while bringing to them an awareness in detail of what theatre has been throughout history in all cultural groups.
In his Preface, Paul Buissonneau emphasizes le jeu as the primary aspect of theatre. Those who make theatre are, above all, players using their imagination to explore, invent, imitate and understand. Alfaenger's text is an invitation to learn about how theatre is made in order to discover the infinite theatrical possibilities offered in everyone's experience.
The first few pages of the text serve to draw the reader's attention to the possibilities of the jeu théâtral. Observation shows that people reveal most about themselves in non-verbal ways; the 'reality' of an individual, an event or a group is complex and multi-faceted, open to many interpretations according to the perspective adopted; in life and on the stage, 'spectacle' is created and others can be convinced to play the role of 'spectators' when an individual or group of individuals succeed in distinguishing themselves from the social norm in behavior, appearance and/or speech.
This introduction leads logically to the question of what resources are available to create this difference, this non-conformity to the norms of social behavior, out of which theatrical spectacle can emerge: 'Quels sont les éléments du théâtre?' (p. 13) The body of the book is a dynamically informative response to this question. In a humorous and lively manner, Alfaenger discusses with his young readers the nature and possibilities of each of theatre's elements: theatrical space and use of the entire stage; lighting and darkness; the curtain; time; the director; the actor; masks, make-up and costumes; mime, gesture and movement; the human voice, music and other sounds. He makes frequent, practical suggestions for the use of everyday objects and resources in preparing for a performance. Throughout the book Alfaenger insists imaginative experimentation will reveal the infinite possibilities offered by the various elements of theatre. He succeeds in exciting the reader regarding the magic power they hold.
Alfaenger's illustrations in Le Théâtre are delightful in offering a visual complement to the message of the text. The varied use of type-face and handwriting assures the success of the graphic design, although the book does contain some unfortunate typographical errors.
While the subject matter of Le Théâtre is not Canadian theatre history, the book offers theatre buffs the opportunity to share with their own children or those they teach an understanding of how theatre works now, how it worked in the past, and how it is related to the society around it. Le Théâtre makes the reader feel the joy that dramatic performance and spectacle can bring. The book is informative-it sparks the imagination-it's great fun!