Chapeau, Dani! (Divers) 2023

This anthology of extracts from French plays, most of them part of Sacré Théâtre’s repertoire, is a tribute to Dani Limon, founding member and leading actress of the company, who passed away last year. The extracts are woven together by the character of Zazie (Raymond Queneau’s eponymous heroine), who wanders from one scene to the next, carried along by a mysterious hat with special travelling powers.

Cast

Grace Appleby – Estelle

Roger Baines – Follbraguet, Garcin

Reece Bond – Premier vieillard, habitant d’Eldorado, Le général

Claire Cuminatto – Le rhinocéros, Mme Dingue Mae Duval – Jeanne, Un valet, Cacambo

Dillon Gurney – Un type, Jean

Dom Heafield – Pâris, Candide

Dominique Limon – Hortense, Dorine

Erwann Limon – Hector, Jourdain, Fadinard

Eugenia Loffredo – La fleuriste

Beth Love – Une femme, Le petit vieux, Marcelle

Clarice Marchal – Zazie Kenny Mpanga – Adrien

Julia Pascoe Hook – Carmen

Sylvain Pourciel – Gabriel

Ilse Renaudie – Le Maître de philosophie, La reine d’Eldorado

Glynis Robshaw – Andromaque, Elmire

Isabel Schoppe – Solange

Wendy Smith – Cassandre, Mme Smith

Claudine Tourniaire – Claire, Inès, Irma

Elijah Watmough-Triggs – Bérenger, Deuxième vieillard, Damis, Le juge

Ralph Yarrow – M.Smith

Production

Direction – Ralph Yarrow, Erwann Limon, Claudine Tourniaire

Production manager – Claudine Tourniaire

Publicity and schools liaison – Roger Baines

Website – Roger Baines

Lighting design - Tim Tracey, Ralph Yarrow; operator – Tim Tracey

Costumes and sets – Julia Pascoe Hook, Mae Duval, Maddermarket Theatre

Musical direction – Bob and Suzie Hanna, Erwann Limon

Singers – Grace Appleby, Mae Duval, Dom Heafield, Erwann Limon, Beth Love

Dancer – Reece Bond

Poster – Elise Limon

Programme – Claudine Tourniaire

Thanks to Peter Beck & Fiona Fletcher. Special thanks to Keith Bradley & Wendy Smith, Nigel & Rosie Chapman, Darren & Lyndsey Huckerby, Simon Caulkin & Ginette Vincendeau, Keith & Nicky Roberts, Gordon Turner, Blue Joanna, for their generous support which made this production possible.

Images from the production

Images of Dani in the original productions

Backstage images

Synopsis

 Act 1 

A Paris railway station. Gabriel waits for the arrival of his niece, Zazie, whose mother is bringing her for a short holiday at her uncle’s. A foul smell around the station, and Gabriel’s strong perfume, cause an argument among the passers-by. Zazie turns out to be rude and cheeky, showing no interest in anything other than riding on the métro. She is furious that due to a strike, the trains are not running. She accuses a passer-by of making obscene proposals to her, causing shock and a good dose of curiosity among the bystanders. The mood changes when she finds a hat, tries it on, and is instantly transported to ancient Troy. There she meets Cassandre, who warns her that anyone too foreign looking is not welcome in Troy and urges her to hide. 

La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu (J.Giraudoux). Pâris, the son of King Priam of Troy, has abducted Helen, a Greek princess. War will break out if Helen is not returned. Cassandre, cursed with the power of foresight, knows there will be war, but Andromaque clings to the hope that peace will prevail and looks forward to the return of Hector, her husband. Hector arrives and reassures Andromaque that he can get Pâris to renounce Helen. Pâris enters, full of enthusiasm for Helen, and makes it clear he will not give in. Helen is seen parading on the terraces while lecherous old men admire her beauty. Pâris finds the hat and picks it up, hoping to offer it to Helen as a present. He finds himself transported into a town invaded by rhinos… 

Rhinocéros (E.Ionesco). Bérenger has seen a friend of his turn into a rhinoceros and is calling for help. Pâris, who has never heard of rhinos, is baffled. More and more rhinos appear. One of them chases Bérenger out of the room and comes back wearing the hat. The rhino now finds himself in a seventeenth century drawing-room. Jourdain, the master of the house, finds the rhino repulsive but asks his valets to show him to a seat. 

Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (Molière). Jourdain, a simple bourgeois, is trying to ape the aristocracy. He has hired a Master of Philosophy, and today’s lesson is about the alphabet. Jourdain finds out how to pronounce vowels, or rather, what different parts of the mouth produce each sound. He also discovers that ordinary language is called “prose”, and how best to concoct a love letter for a lady he hopes to impress. He is under the impression of having learnt a great deal and improved his social standing. At the end of the scene, he orders one of his servants to fetch his hat. This turns out to be the travelling hat. Jourdain is transported to Troy, where the old men, still drooling over Helen, are unimpressed by Jourdain’s discovery of prose and vowel sounds. Enter Zazie, who pokes fun at Jourdain’s attire. While the old men resume their cheering of Helen and Jourdain is distracted, Zazie takes the hat off his head. She now finds herself in a strange drawing room. 

Les Bonnes (J.Genet). Claire and Solange are Madame’s maids. Every day while their mistress is out, they take it in turn to play Madame. This time it is Claire’s turn, while Solange pretends to be Claire. Solange dresses Claire up (but not in the dress Claire asked for). Claire caricatures Madame’s coquettish manners, and the contempt with which she treats the maids. She enacts Madame’s great sorrow about her lover’s misfortune. He (referred to as Monsieur) has been denounced as a thief to the police (by Claire?) and been arrested. Claire plays their mistress as a grand dame whose tragic situation only humiliates the maids further. She relishes insulting Solange about her bad smell, her poverty, her crush on the milkman. Gradually, Solange (occasionally forgetting she is speaking as Claire) turns the tables on Claire/Madame. She proclaims the maids’ rebellion, their hatred of Madame, their pride in who they are. Solange spits in Madame’s face, slaps her, and is about to strangle her, when the alarm-clock rings. Time’s up, Madame will soon be home and must not suspect what her maids have been up to. On her way out, Solange finds the hat and picks it up, thinking it will be perfect for Madame’s next outing. Zazie appears, seizes the hat, and is transported into a chateau. There she meets 

Fadinard (of Chapeau de paille en Italie) who thinks Zazie is wearing the hat he has been looking for. The two of them go off into Act 2. 

Act 2 

Zazie and Fadinard have arrived in an English sitting room. 

La Cantatrice chauve (E.Ionesco). M. and Mme Smith, a supposedly typical English couple, are in their sitting-room. Mme Smith talks non-stop about banalities, some of which verge on the absurd, totally ignored by M.Smith who only reacts towards the end of the scene. Some of Mme Smith’s impassioned comments have to do with their evening meal, the cooking oil from the local shops and the exotic wonder of Rumanian yoghurt. Zazie is unimpressed with such mundane concerns and invites Fadinard to travel a bit further, holding on to the hat. This takes them to a dentist’s consultation room. Follbraguet, the dentist, does not appreciate the arrival of Zazie and Fadinard who have not made an appointment. He sends them off. 

Hortense a dit Je m’en fous ((G.Feydeau). Follbraguet’s wife, Marcelle, storms into the room, ordering her husband to dismiss Hortense, their housemaid, who responded “I don’t give a d…” to the accusation that her cat soiled Marcelle’s muff. Follbraguet, a hen-pecked husband, protests feebly, but eventually agrees to dismiss Hortense. Enter Mme Dingue, a new client who needs a tooth repaired. It turns out to be a broken set of dentures. Follbraguet boasts about the secret code he uses to refer to dentures on his appointment register. Mme Dingue recognises the name of an acquaintance, and the breach of confidentiality causes further embarrassment for Follbraguet. On her way out, Mme Dingue bumps into Zazie and Fadinard. Fadinard is smitten and leaves Zazie to travel alone. 

Tartuffe (Molière). Dorine, a servant in Orgon’s house, is hoping to expose Tartuffe as an impostor who has wormed his way into the family by posing as a deeply pious man. Orgon has promised his daughter Marianne’s hand to Tartuffe. Dorine has arranged for Elmire, Orgon’s wife, to confront Tartuffe. Damis, Orgon’s son, wants to witness the scene but Dorine fears he will not keep his cool. She finally agrees that he can remain in the room but must keep quiet. Zazie arrives, and is also asked to hide. Enter Tartuffe, overjoyed at the prospect of a tȇte-à-tȇte with Elmire, whom he fancies. Tartuffe attempts to seduce her. She promises to keep quiet about his lecherous ways if he turns down the offer of Marianne’s hand. Damis comes out of hiding and swears to reveal the truth to Orgon. Dorine invites Zazie for supper, but Zazie, increasingly tired, would rather be on her way. Dorine follows Zazie into a room where people speak bizarrely (in prose) and it is exceedingly hot. 

Huis clos (J.-P.Sartre). Three murderers share a room in hell. Their punishment is to remain together despite (or because of) their incompatibility. Inès is attracted to Estelle, who fancies Garcin, who likes neither of the two women. Inès asks the other two to be honest about what led them there. Tension mounts as Estelle and Garcin try to conceal their past. On Garcin’s advice, they try to avoid any further interaction, but Estelle’s need to seduce Garcin and Inès’s feelings towards Estelle defeat any attempts at peace. Garcin urges silence again, but Inès decides to remain in charge and confront her own hell. Zazie and Dorine do not fancy staying any longer and leave. Zazie meets Fadinard again. Increasingly tired, she wants to leave, but Fadinard now has a crush on Dorine and leaves Zazie to travel on alone. The hat takes her to Eldorado where she meets Candide. 

Candide (Voltaire). Candide and his friend Cacambo have arrived in Eldorado. They meet a bunch of friendly natives, the ground is littered with gold and precious stones, Eldorado is a model of civilisation, and they are made welcome by the queen herself. None of this, however, is enough for Candide, who misses his beloved Cunégonde and wants to leave. Zazie, still hoping to get a ride on the Paris métro, wishes him good luck and is off. She arrives in a luxurious brothel, Le Grand Balcon. 

Le Balcon (J.Genet). Irma, who runs the brothel, and her favourite girl and assistant Carmen, are discussing the day’s earnings. Carmen waxes lyrical about her job. Irma is proud of what the Grand Balcon is all about. This is no ordinary brothel, but a theatre in which clients pretend to be grandees (judges, generals, bishops), leaving 

their “real lives” at the door, with the help of the girls who play along with them, dressed as nuns or whatever fits the act. The frontier between reality and appearances becomes blurred. Outside, a revolution is raging, threatening all institutions and the Grand Balcon itself. Enter the Chief of Police, made into a hero and at last a member of society’s elite by the ongoing riots. He celebrates by descending into a mausoleum. He is followed into the room by very distraught clients dressed as judge and general. Irma shows them to a side door so they can escape. Left alone, she reflects on the efforts needed to keep the show running. She sends the audience back home to a life that she says will be just as false as that inside the Grand Balcon.