Maurice Donnay

Charles Maurice Donnay.

Charles Maurice Donnay (12 October 1859 – 31 March 1945) was a French dramatist.

Biography

Donnay was born of middle-class parents in Paris in 1859. His father was a railway engineer and initially Donnay followed a similar profession, studying at the École centrale des arts et manufactures in 1882.

With Alphonse Allais, Donnay started by writing material for the celebrated cabaret le Chat noir.

Donnay made his serious debut as a dramatist on the little stage of the Chat Noir with Phryne (1891), a series of Greek scenes. This was followed by Lysistrata, a four-act comedy, was produced at the Grand Théâtre in 1892 with Mme Rejane in the title part. With Amants in 1895 he won a great success, and the play was hailed by Jules Lemaître as the Berenice of contemporary French drama. His plays were performed by famous actors including Cécile Sorel, Réjane et Lucien Guitry.

On 14 February 1907, Donnay was elected a member of the Académie française, replacing the late Albert Sorel.

Works

Donnay's plays were:

• Phryné (1891)
• Lysistrata (1892)
• Folle Entreprise (1894)
• Pension de famille (1894)
• Complices (1895), in collaboration with M. Groselande
• Amants (1895), produced at the Renaissance theatre with Mme Jeanne Granier as Claudine Rozeray
• La Douloureuse (1897)
• L'Affranchie (1898)
• Georgette Lemeunier (1898)
• Le Torrent (1899), at the Comédie Française
• Éducation de prince (1900)
• La Clairière (1900)
• Oiseaux de passage (1904), in collaboration with Lucien Descaves
• La Bascule (Igor)
• L'Autre danger, at the Comédie Française (1902)
• Le Retour de Jérusalem (1903)
• L'Escalade (1904)
• Paraître (1906)

References

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 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press