Some memorable productions of Racine's 'Britannicus' in the second half ofthe twentieth century and their critical reception

Britannicus is one of the plays that have been most often put on stage in t he last fifty years. In 1952, Jean Marais was the first director who abando ned a realistic setting at the Comedie-Francaise. Noel Vincent, Jena Marcha t, Roger Dornes, Michel Vitold, Michel Hermon, Daniel Mesguich, Yves Gourvi l (who suppressed the title role), Jean-Pierre Miquel, Gildas Bourdet, Anto ine Vitez, Jean-Luc Boutte, Alain Francon freely imagined their own concept of costume and setting as well as acting. After Jean Marais, Daniel Iverne l, Robert Hirsch, Richard Fontana were the most remarkable Nerons, while Ma rie Bell, Marguerite Jamois, Annie Ducaux, Denise Gence, Nada Strancar were famous for their interpretations of Agrippine. This multiplicity shows the contemporary interest in a play whose meaning can easily be applied to our time. Benin artist Tola Koukoui's testimony comes between those of Gildas Bourdet and Alain Bezu.