No major dramatist confronted with American culture - a genre in itself and a must for French artists and playwrights has escaped Essif's precise but global, gentle but witty, generous but severe radar. - Patrice Pavis (University of Kent, UK) in his Foreword to American 'Unculture' in French Drama
The author presents clearly and vividly the new perspectives on US people, places and events, which are viewed and scrutinized from afar, namely in French theatre. Reciprocally, he describes what light these theatrical representations shed on France itself, and its own attraction and anxiety towards US image culture, market economy, war, and religious evangelism. This is a highly impressive overview, that would usefully serve not only theatre specialists, but also any students or scholars in the Humanities seeking to compare and contrast contemporary US and French society and culture. - Clare Finburgh, University of Essex, UK
Les Essif is the author of Empty Figure on an Empty Stage, The French Play, and numerous essays on French theatre and theories of drama and performance. He is currently a professor of French Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.