What kind of theatre did Denis Diderot support in his writings on drama?

In his writings on drama, Denis Diderot advocated for the development of the drame bourgeois, a serious form of theatre focused on the lives and problems of the middle class. Moving away from the traditional dichotomy of tragedy and comedy, he sought a more realistic depiction of everyday life, emphasizing that characters should be presented within their specific professional milieus to highlight significant social and moral implications.12

To achieve this heightened sense of realism, Diderot introduced the concept of the "fourth wall," an imaginary barrier between the actors and the audience. By encouraging actors to perform as if they were not being observed, he aimed to eliminate the artificiality of addressing the audience directly. Furthermore, in his essay Paradoxe sur le comédien, Diderot argued that a great actor should rely on judgment and technical penetration rather than "sensibility," meaning they should not actually experience the emotions they are portraying on stage. His theories were instrumental in promoting naturalistic acting styles and greater historical accuracy in theatrical production.231