Abstract: The pantomime Pierrot sceptique is the only “dramatic” production and the only text written collaboratively by Huysmans. His friendship with Léon Hennique, dating from La République des lettres (1876), lasted until after the foundation of the Académie Goncourt in 1903. The “pantomime” genre is ambiguous, between a lengthy stage direction and the short story form. Through mime, the latter presents the romantic follies of a Pierrot who is alternately joyful and violent; the action stumbles into an absurd and sometimes disturbing comedy, and the style itself is heartfelt.
