Désordre du discours on stage in Bloomington and Chicago

Désordre du discours is a French-language solo play with English supertitles, conceived by director Fanny de Chaillé and performed by Guillaume Bailliart. Presented at Indiana University in Bloomington (IN) and the University of Chicago, these free performances are part of the commemorations marking the centenary of Michel Foucault’s birth and are the only two U.S. stops for this acclaimed production from the Théâtre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine.

December 1, 2026 – Indiana University – Bloomington: More information
December 3, 2026 – University of Chicago: More information

The piece takes as its starting point L’Ordre du discours (The Order of Discourse), the inaugural lecture Michel Foucault delivered at the Collège de France on December 2, 1970. Although the text was later published by Gallimard, no audio or film recording of the original lecture exists. Conceived by director Fanny de Chaillé in 2019, the production brings this landmark text back to life through theater, giving it a body and a voice. Performed by actor Guillaume Bailliart, it stages Foucault’s reflections on language and discourse using the published text as its sole source.

In the lecture, Foucault outlines his research program by examining how societies seek to control and organize the production of discourse. De Chaillé turns this very question into the subject of a theatrical experiment, bringing the philosopher’s ideas to life on stage and making the act of delivering and performing the text part of the experience itself.

Since its creation, the production has been presented in universities, theaters, and cultural institutions across France, including at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in conjunction with its recent exhibition dedicated to Foucault.

Supported in part by Villa Albertine.