Early theatrical realism on page and stage

This essay discusses Émile Zola as a pioneer of theatrical realism, focusing on the modern, anti-idealist notion of le vrai in the twin volumes Le Naturalisme au Théâtre and Nos Auteurs Dramatiques (1881). It then analyzes the work of Henrik Ibsen, disproving the conventional wisdom that the inventor of realist drama had no interest in its theory. Ibsen’s correspondence reveals that both his conception and invention of the realist play were the fruit of his deliberate attempt to create a drama for the contemporary world, characterized by an anti-idealist purpose and a “fourth wall” stage. The essay traces Ibsen’s development as a realist writer, drawing on his critical thought and focusing on A Doll’s House (1879) and Ghosts (1881), before discussing the great variety of realism in Ibsen’s plays. It then examines August Strindberg’s notion of realism as a “great naturalism” and its manifestation in Strindberg’s The Father (1887) and Miss Julie (1888). It analyzes the canonical theoretical document of realist theatre, the “Preface” to Miss Julie. The essay finally discusses the essential work of the Art Theatres in staging realist plays: André Antoine’s Théâtre Libre in Paris, Otto Brahm’s Freie Bühne in Berlin, and Jacob Grein’s Independent Theatre in London.