Mnouchkine, Ariane (1939– )

French theatre and film director. She founded the Théâtre du Soleil 1964, which established a reputation with a vigorous production of Arnold Wesker's The Kitchen in 1967. After 1968, the company began to devise its own material, firstly with The Clowns (1969), which was followed by 1789 (1970), an exploration of the French Revolution, and L'Age d'or (1975), concerning the exploitation of immigrant workers. She has also directed Les Atrides (1992), a version of Aeschylus' Oresteia.

Mnouchkine adapted Mephisto (1979) from Klauss Mann's novel; directed a series of Shakespeare's plays (Richard II in 1981 and Twelfth Night in 1982) integrating Japanese theatrical conventions; collaborated with the writer Helene Cixous on Sihanouk (1985), a production about Cambodia, and L'Indiade (1987); and directed Le Dernier Caravansérail/The Last Caravan-stop (2003), which focuses on asylum seekers, using conversations with migrants in Sangatte, Lombok, and other asylum camps.