Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1513 - 1419: Best Drama Award
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As for the Best Play Award and Best Screenwriter Award at the drama festival, naturally they were both unquestionably awarded to the French Royal Theater Group’s performance of “The Count of Monte Cristo”.
It received the highest score of 19 points at the festival!
The Queen of France portrayed the middle-aged female lead Mercédès in this play. Of course, this wasn’t the only reason the judges gave the play a high score.
The plot of this play absolutely crushed all other scripts at the drama festival!
Even at the 3 AM performance, the audience was hoarse from cheering at the scene where the Count of Monte Cristo escapes from prison and is reborn.
Well, Queen Mary didn’t appear in this performance—her health condition does not allow her to stay up late.
The Best Actor Award went to Saviano, the lead in “Brave Heart”.
For several days after the end of the festival, people on the streets of Paris occasionally shouted “Freedom——”.
That was the last word shouted by William Wallace, the leader of the Scottish rebel army, before his execution. The word used on stage was in English.
The Best Set Design Award was given to a drama depicting the French and Spanish Allied Army rescuing local farmers from the British army’s “scorched earth tactics” in Portugal—”Thirty Days in Iberia”.
Well, the drama ends with the British fleeing Porto in disgrace, while tens of thousands of Portuguese citizens tearfully welcome the entry of the French and Spanish “invincible troops” into the city.
In total, 15 of the 42 plays participating in the drama festival received various awards.
Among these, only 4 are relatively traditional plays, while the others align with France’s promotional needs.
On the closing day of the drama festival, more than 90 theater groups from various European countries signed licensing agreements with the festival committee.
They will continuously perform these plays across Europe, at least twice a week.
This also includes 3 British theater groups—though Britain did not participate in the festival, it didn’t stop their troupes from coming to Paris to observe.
That evening, at the celebration ball held at the Palace of Versailles for “The Count of Monte Cristo” winning, Queen Mary happily danced one dance after another.
Joseph, watching his mother’s waist which had slimmed down considerably, felt gratified—this was the result of his diligent efforts to encourage exercise over the past two months. Her weight used to be well above the standard, which was probably one of the major factors contributing to diabetes.
Fortunately, after dietary control and exercise, her high blood sugar condition has been initially curbed.
He then remembered that he was about to go to the Brest Shipyard, so he came to his mother, who had just finished a dance, and whispered, “Dear mother, would you like to relax by the seaside for a while?”
“Seaside?” Queen Mary sighed, “Of course, I would like to go. I last saw the sea nearly 30 years ago. But you know, I can’t casually leave Paris.”
“Presence” is the core of French court etiquette and political rules, meaning the queen must be in the capital at all times unless there are unforeseen events, and she should preferably remain at the Palace of Versailles.
Joseph whispered in her ear, “It’s alright, just say you went to Meudon Castle for convalescence. Everyone knows you’re unwell.”
Meudon Castle is not far from Paris, its surroundings are beautiful and the air fresh. Joseph and Therese used to go there for recuperation in their childhood.
Queen Mary immediately widened her eyes, “This, can really be done?”
“Of course. But if you want to go out, you’ll probably need to disguise yourself somewhat. Hmm, like some Countess.”
Queen Mary was stunned for a moment, blinked and softly said, “I’ll disguise myself as your guard.”
“That, certainly can be done…”
Well, Joseph wouldn’t tell her, that he’s worried she might secretly eat too much cake after leaving the Palace of Versailles.
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Although Bomasha’s theatrical theories haven’t been published as standalone articles, his preface “On Serious Drama” in front of “Eugenie” is indeed an important theatrical aesthetic theory essay. He discusses a range not as broad as Diderot, and his theoretical level and spiritual realm are not as high as Diderot’s, but he undoubtedly developed Diderot’s theatrical theories by proposing new views on theater. He first introduced the concept of ‘drama proper’, or ‘serious drama’. He believed classical tragedy could be immortalized, and light comedy could spread far and wide. Why should ordinary themes, possessing ordinary tones, like ‘serious drama’ not have a status? He argued that ‘serious drama’ is a genre existing between heroic tragedy and delightful comedy. Regarding both content and form, this genre is more promising. He further elaborates in the preface that ancient heroic tragedies showcased bizarre and odious phenomena not usually present in modern civilization. Facing scenes of murder, incest, and parricide depicted in the drama, the audience often finds it challenging to be genuinely moved. The protagonists of these heroic tragedies are often rulers and nobles, whose tragedies are not due to defeat in a just battle but are driven by destiny. Destiny-driven tragedies claim that all human efforts equate to zero, and everything is manipulated by fate, which he considers contrary to social morality. He said, “Believing in fatalism reduces human value: as it deprives one’s personal freedom, without which there’s no morality in one’s actions.” The heroic characters in these tragedies often feel too distant from our era to evoke sympathy. As for light comedies, they are often portrayed too shallowly; after mocking the other party, laughter fades quickly, not moving us. He stated, “Serious drama, compared to mere entertainment, can deeply move us with emotion.” He further pointed out: for heroic tragedies to move us, or have moved us, they must be similar to serious drama, portraying the people rather than focusing on rulers. Even if they write about rulers, they should fundamentally rely on the ordinary human elements present in these rulers to touch the hearts of common audiences. He believed that if theater reflects human societal occurrences faithfully, the interest it evokes must closely relate to how we observe real-life matters. He said, “The fundamental purpose of serious drama is to provide more direct interest, more resonant appeal, and more applicable lessons than are found in heroic tragedies; assuming everything else is equal, serious drama also tends to imprint a more profound impression than light comedy.” This encapsulates his most powerful argument for advocating ‘serious drama’. Additionally, he significantly emphasized the educational role of theater, believing that after watching a play, the audience’s moral enthusiasm should be more noble than when entering the theater. He demanded playwrights engage with real life, portray real life, and reflect major issues of contemporary society, suggesting that protagonists in scripts shouldn’t be rulers and nobles, but should be ordinary people from the third estate.
