Maurice Donnay

Charles Maurice Donnay (12 October 1859 – 31 March 1945) was a French dramatist. Donnay was born of middle-class parents in Paris in 1859. His father was a railway engineer and initially Donnay followed a similar profession, studying at the École centrale des arts et manufactures in 1882.

With Alphonse Allais, Donnay started by writing material for the celebrated cabaret le Chat noir.

Donnay made his serious debut as a dramatist on the little stage of Le Chat Noir with Phryne (1891), a series of Greek scenes.

This was followed by Lysistrata, a four-act comedy, was produced at the Grand Théâtre in 1892 with Gabrielle Réjane in the title part.

With Amants in 1895 he won a great success, and the play was hailed by Jules Lemaître as the Bérénice of contemporary French drama. It was the first work of a series called Théâtre d'Amour.

His plays were performed by famous actors including Cécile Sorel, Réjane et Lucien Guitry. They showed what was at the time advanced ideas on the relationship between the sexes, and used everyday language in their dialogue.On 14 February 1907, Donnay was elected a member of the Académie française, replacing Albert Sorel.