Jones, Graeme2024-09-132024-09-132024https://hdl.handle.net/1828/20418Letters at the archival library of the Comédie-Française up to the 19th century pertaining to illness, accidents and poor health are transcribed and analysed for statistical trends and anecdotal insight into the effect of these absences on the theatre institution and the performance of theatre. Criteria assessed include gender, time frame, frequency of conditions and remedies (if applicable) and the purpose and content of letters. The results of the analyses suggest that women employed at the Comédie-Française during the studied time period were more likely to request time off due to indispositions than their male counterparts. Other trends are likewise revealed, including differences in rates of mention of common ailments between women and men and the demographic of actors who most often wrote time-off requests to the theatre. The actors' original manuscripts provide unique anecdotal insight into the work culture and approach towards illness during the time period. The information found in these results is an asset to future analyses of daily theatre programming and to further research on the challenges that performance artists face in their profession, a key issue to better understanding the cultural history of the performance arts.enComédie-Françaisetheatre18th centuryillnesssicknesslettersPoster