In 1985, the actor and director Antoine Vitez wrote that "when they are over, we shall look back on these last 30 or 40 years as a golden age of theatre in France" (1991: 123; my translation).¹ By this he meant that theatre had finally liberated itself from being seen as dependent on literature, and that the art of mise en scène had come to be recognized in its own right. The energy behind this achievement came in large part from the expanding decentralization movement of the 1950s and 1960s, inspired by the ideal of théâtre populaire, or theatre for all. This had seen young theatre companies establish themselves all over France in regions previously deprived of live theatre. Following the lead of Jean Vilar, who founded the Avignon Festival in 1947, their aim was to bring productions of the classic and modern repertoires to a wide popular audience. In the late 1960s and 1970s, many of those working in the decentralized theatre had been dazzled by the visits to France of productions by, first, Jerzy Grotowski, then Robert Wilson, then Tadeusz Kantor. Inspired by these examples, many young directors saw their future in the exploration of all the corporeal and visual aspects of theatre production. Roger Planchon had developed a theory of écriture scénique (scenic writing) as the creative contribution of the director, to be put on a par with the écriture dramatique (dramatic writing), supplied by the playwright.