Modern Architecture in Theatre

"Gray Read's attentive study of the theatrical-architectural partnership of Edouard Autant and his wife, Louise Lara, uncovers a revolution waged by means of five iconic theatre designs, drawn from the original 'theatres' of the city's performative landscape. In the bright lights of Paris between the wars, Autant and Lara's Art et action advanced a boldly precise thesis: that art and life could be joined at last within an enigma of form." - Donald Kunze, Professor of Architecture and Integrative Arts, Pennsylvania State University, USA

"In this original account of the fascinating position of theatre and its roots in modern urban life developed by Autant and Lara in Paris between the two World Wars, Gray Read proposes a challenge to contemporary thinking about urban design and architecture. Read demonstrates how Art et action responds to deeper historical traditions as it seeks its roots in lived culture avoiding arbitrary formalistic tendencies." - Alberto Perez-Gomez, Bronfman Professor of Architecture, McGill University, Canada