Theatre de la Ville Presents THE MARRIAGE, 9/29

VALERY FOKINE, DIRECTOR with
THÉÂTRE ALEXANDRINSKY DE SAINT-PETERSBOURG COMPANY Present
THE MARRIAGE French première
IN RUSSIAN, FRENCH SUBTITLES

29 Sept - 1 Oct 2010

SLIPS AND SLIDES
Somewhere between dreaming and laughter, Gogol's world is made of creatures characterized by a childish selfishness and the pursuit of happiness. Who would blame them?

An old matchmaker with a liking for vodka, keen to make enough money to replenish her stock, answers the call of a simple-minded young lady with schoolgirl's dreams who doesn't trust herself, or anybody for that matter, and she's not altogether wrong. Each of her suitors turns out to be more selfish than the last. In this story, love does not top the bill.

In keeping with his reputation for ferocious observation of human behaviour, Gogol is not kind to his characters, who are nonetheless merrily picturesque.

In France, the play - known under the title Hyménée - often resembles a vaudeville by Labiche. Here, between a bedroom and an ice rink on which one slips and slides with no real sense of direction, the production has opted for a form of burlesque poetry that might evoke, if not tenderness, at least a desire for something else, happiness perhaps. True, no one seems to be tormented by scruples, but in the end, aren't these people just yearning for a "better life"?

Photo: Colette Godard