The Place and Nature of Tale Adaptation in the Dramas for Young People: a Questioning of Contemporary Aesthetics

The Place and Nature of Tale Adaptation in the Dramas for Young People: a Questioning of Contemporary Aesthetics In the dramas for children and young people, either published or performed, which have been increasing in number for the last three decades, the rewriting of tales, either in a direct or indirect way, has been predominant. Two main categories of adaptation can be singled out: the entertainment aiming at becoming part of the cultural inheritance, and the re-writing with an aesthetic quest in view. Among all the theatre adaptations of tales, one can notice a series of networks around some well-known tales: Red Little Riding Hood, Blue Beard, Pinocchio... However the tale is also defined as a form of narrativity whose aesthetics can be found in what can be called "the stage direction of the tale" with a very pregnant narrative bend. A questioning, both ethic and aesthetic, thus emerges: would that not be the sign of a new kind of writing?