Professor Melissa Percival
Artful Monkeys: The ‘Singeries’ of Marivaux
6pm, Tuesday 10th May
Room 101, 30 Russell Square
Unashamedly ‘moderne’, Marivaux’s writing displays a heightened awareness of the practices of imitation. A complex yet coherent thematics of ‘singe’ and ‘singerie’ can be found in his theatre, journalism and fiction. In Marivaux’s universe Arlequin, that most simian of creatures, paradoxically embodies a powerful humanity. Singerie can be an exaggerated physical display of contorsion and grimace; but it is also a social practice, a frequently pernicious form of ingratiation. Equally it pertains to the author’s own vanities and machinations.
In addition to Marivaux’s writings, this paper will make reference to Alfredo Arias’s controversial ‘monkey’ production of Le Jeu de l’amour et du hasard (1986) and to the painted singeries of Marivaux’s contemporaries Watteau, Audran and Huet.
All are very welcome! Do please pass this information onto anyone else who might be interested.
For further information, please contact Ann Lewis: a.lewis@bbk.ac.uk
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