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Ducis, Jean-François

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

Ducis, Jean-François (1733–1816), French dramatist, the first adapter for the French stage of the plays of Shakespeare, which he probably read in one of the deplorable translations since he almost certainly knew no English. Encouraged by the current French Anglomania, he altered Hamlet (in 1769) followed by Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Macbeth, so that little remained of them but their titles. He knew the tastes of his time and realized audiences would accept Shakespeare only with modifications. His Othello (1792) owed much of its success to the fine acting of Talma, and after seeing his last effort, King John, a contemporary critic deplored the waste of his talents on such rubbish. None of Ducis's own plays, however, has survived.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Ducis, Jean-François." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Ducis, Jean-François." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-DucisJeanFranois.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Ducis, Jean-François." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-DucisJeanFranois.html

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