“Desire Can only Be Approached by ­Dancing” The Actor's Co-Construction in Partage de midi by Paul Claudel, Directed by Yves Beaunesne

This article examines how desire, which is on the side of the unpresentable, can be created or even co-constructed on stage. It examines the staging of Paul Claudel’s Partage de midi, notably the performance of Marina Hands and Éric Ruf in 2007 at the Comédie-Française. It explains how the staging of desire is based largely on the improvisation of the actors and on the idea of a danced duo-duel, constantly put under tension.