Anouilh, Jean 1910-87
French dramatist

He was born in Bordeaux, of French and Basque parentage, and after studying law in Paris began his career as a copywriter and as a gag-man in films. His first play, L'Hermine (1931, Eng trans The Ermine, 1955), was not a success, but his steady output soon earned him recognition. He was influenced by the neoclassical fashion inspired by Jean Giraudoux, but his very personal approach to the re-interpretation of Greek myths was less poetic, and more in tune with the contemporary taste for artifice and stylization. Among his many successful plays are Antigone (1946, prod in English, New York 1946, London 1949), M�d�e (1946, Eng trans Medea, 1956), L'Alouette (1953, Eng trans The Lark, 1955), Becket (1959, first performed in London, 1961), Cher Antoine (1969, Eng trans Dear Antoine, 1971), L'Arrestation (1974, Eng trans The Arrest, 1974) and La Culotte (1978, 'The Breeches').

Bibliography: A D Fazia, Jean Anouilh (1972); J Harvey, Jean Anouilh: a study in theatrics (1964)