Directly after the total despair of Rispe, the action on the stage was stopped to reveal a
tableau vivant. Frozen and silent actors (or mannequins) were staged hanging at the gallows.
Compose de vingt-trois membres, le groupe palestinien a dresse, en quarante-cinq minutes, un
tableau vivant et realiste d'un peuple en lutte pour sa liberte.
There is also an inherent politicality to this performative form and Morris is particularly attuned to this dimension, informing the reader that with "its roots in English and French state-censorship of spoken language in theatre, the voiceless form of
tableau vivant ...
During this exercise, "the raw material" should be shaped into a unique
tableau vivant that reflects the views of "the performance artist" (105-10).
The Courier reported in March, 1845: "The shorn and crested heads of this picturesque group, their lively games, extraordinary dances, archery and other sports with the erection of their wigwams give further vraisemblance (appearance of truth) to the scene, a form of
tableau vivant strikingly illustrative of Indian life in the wilds."
Laura performs a
tableau vivant to gain her husband's attention.
He also introduces elements of physical theatre, the ballet and even
tableau vivant to scenes where the actors waltz, walk around, or even sit quietly reading.
On passe ainsi d'une logique verbale a une logique iconique et reciproquement, le recit donne toute sa force a un
tableau vivant non represente sur scene.
Hyun Mi Yoo's work embraces painting, sculpture, video and photography, the elements combining to create beautiful and surreal still lives or "
tableau vivant" portraits.
Annaud has acknowledged using 19th-century orientalist painters as inspiration; the harem scenes with an underused Pinto could have been lifted from a Victorian
tableau vivant, and not in a good way.