Ancient Theatre; Greek Comedy; Menander; Metatheatre
Abstract :
[en] The concept of metatheatre is outstanding for the study of ancient theatre, both Greek and Roman. It raises many questions regarding the textual links between the stage and the audience. However, researchers have often opposed the general dramatic action stricto sensu and the metatheatrical speeches, more limited in the plays. In this paper, I will demonstrate that Menander’s theatre, as a whole, is metatheatrical and that the public is entirely part of the dramatic convention: for the author, the point would not be to propose a universe dissociated from the spectators. There would not be a border between the tiers and the stage made visible for a short while by specific lines (passive assistance vs active comedians). Menander aims to create a fictional space whereby actors and spectators are continuously connected together by a set of interdependent links. By this way, Menander would take all the participants of the show from the extratheatricality to the intratheatricality. These conditions would generate a homogeneous group united, during the time of the performance, by its awareness of the theatrical norms
