Désordre du discours on stage in Bloomington and Chicago
Performing Arts
© Marc Domage
Indiana University - Bloomington & University of Chicago
Bloomington, IN & Chicago, IL,
Dec 1-3, 2026
Discover a solo performance that brings to life Michel Foucault’s 1970 inaugural lecture at the Collège de France, a landmark moment for which no audio or video recording exists.
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 – Whittenberg Auditorium, Indiana Memorial Union, Indiana University – Bloomington: More information
December 3, 2026 – Social Sciences Research Building (1126 E 59th St.) University of Chicago – 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.
In partnership with
France Chicago Center
The France Chicago Center (FCC) is a University of Chicago-based interdisciplinary organization with a two-fold mission of: (1) facilitating, promoting, and fostering stronger ties between University of Chicago students and researchers and their colleagues in France, and (2) increasing awareness within the University of Chicago community of French culture, art, and thought. To this end, FCC sponsors a range of programs including conferences, workshops, public lectures, visiting professors, fellowships, travel grants & fellowships, exchange programs and various cultural, scientific, and outreach activities.
University of Chicago
For more than 125 years, the University of Chicago, one of the world’s leading research universities, inspires scholars to pursue field-defining research, while educating students in the sciences, medicine, economics, law, business, history, culture, the arts, and humanities focused on careful reading, analytical writing, and critical thinking. The University of Chicago Center in Paris is an intellectual destination for faculty, students, and alumni worldwide, and important convening point for the University’s collaboration with universities and research institutions across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. As the University’s first facility for study abroad programs, the Center in Paris serves as a model for scholarly engagement worldwide.
Department of French and Italian and the Center of Excellence of the French Embassy at Indiana University Bloomington
Learning French or Italian can open doors to the global community. Our internationally recognized department offers all levels of language instruction, courses that inspire curiosity, exciting research opportunities, and study abroad experiences to broaden your horizons.