Michel de Ghelderode

Michel de Ghelderode (born April 3, 1898, Ixelles, Belg.—died April 1, 1962, Brussels) was an eccentric Belgian dramatist whose folkish morality plays resound with violence, demonism, holy madness, and Rabelaisian humour. He has affinities with Fernand Crommelynck but is bleaker and more extreme in his visions.

Ghelderode was the son of Flemish parents who favoured bilingualism. His early education was cut short by illness, which enabled him to read widely. By the time he was able to return to school, he had embraced a life of writing; all told, he would write some 80 plays.

He scored an early success with Images de la vie de Saint François d’Assise (produced 1927; “Scenes from the Life of St. Francis of Assisi”), in which the life and death of the saint are told with little concern for the reverential attitudes traditionally found in religious plays. Humour, naive realism, and what were—in 1927—very advanced theatrical techniques, as well as a deep and moving piety, all abound in this strange play. Invited by the Flemish Popular Theatre to write a play for performance during Holy Week, Ghelderode submitted Barabbas (written 1928); this unusual interpretation of Christ’s last hours on Earth captivated both popular and highly sophisticated audiences. The style of the dialogue—forceful, colourful, and idiomatic—is as striking as the daring conception of events, the avant-garde staging, and the unexpected mixture of religion and ribaldry. The play, which is largely dependent for its success upon a sympathetic production, includes detailed instructions for performance. Ghelderode’s other plays—such as Escurial (written 1928), Pantagleize (written 1929), Magie rouge (written 1931; Red Magic), Mademoiselle Jaïre (written 1935; Miss Jairus), Hop, Signor! (written 1936), and Fastes d’enfer (written 1937; Chronicles of Hell)—evoke the macabre carnivals portrayed by the Flemish painters Hieronymous Bosch, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and (Ghelderode’s contemporary) James Ensor. Because Ghelderode appealed to the popular Belgian taste, he went unrecognized as a master of the avant-garde theatre—even in France—until after World War II.

Ghelderode was one of the first dramatists to exploit the idea of total theatre—that is, drama in which every sort of appeal is made to the eye, the ear, and the emotions in order to stir the intellect. As a pioneer of total theatre, at a time when the vast dramas of Paul Claudel had yet to be performed in Paris, Ghelderode exerted a powerful influence on the history of the French theatre. Although many of his plays have since been translated into English, his works are infrequently performed in English-speaking countries.