A night at the theater

Learning a new language undoubtedly has a great number of benefits. But what I love most is being able to appreciate the literature of this new language. It is such a wonderful way of enriching oneself and it is doubly appreciable given the difficulties that learning a new language entails. Thus it is only now, two years after starting French that I made my way to the theater for the first time. The piece, L’Antichambre by Jean Claude Brisville (whom I have the honor of knowing personally), is currently running at the Theatre Hebertot and we were fortunate enough to have tickets for La Generale. The Theater itself is a good looking one located at the 18th arrondissement and decorated in the classical style. The story is simple yet engaging and raises a number of food for thought.
The story revolves around three characters, the Marquise du Deffand, superbly played by Daniele Lebrun, the young Julie de Lespinasse, the reader engaged by the Marquise and who does not have much prospect in life due to a complicated personal history and the President Henault, an old friend of the Marquise. The action revolves around the nightly Salon held at the house of the Marquise where leading thinkers and personalities of the day gather and discuss. The Marquise, true to her background and the times believes that the Salon should foster discussion but should stop short of debate and does not believe that any discussion should necessarily be for a cause. While admiring of philosophers and thinkers, she does not wholly believe in their goodness and warns the young Julie of allowing others to think for her. She takes in hand Julie and introduces her to her group, even putting her behind her for protection against indiscreet questions. Unforeseen by the Marquise however is the success that Julie achieves within the group. She is perceived as a breath of fresh air and they are enamored of her. Less so is the Marquise, for in her heart, Julie can only be a mere reader, under her shadow and nothing more. When one admirer becomes too close to Julie, she takes it upon herself to tell the admirer of Julie’s complicated and less than suitable beginnings. Julie is heartbroken at hearing what the Marquise has done and she realizes that she will never be fully accepted as someone worthy and that her beginnings will always be taken against her. From here it is only a question of time until Julie deliberately supplants the Marquise, with the President a willing accomplice.
Despite being set in the 18th century, the language of the play remains fresh and relevant today. More importantly, it is a sharply witty text and the audience is fully involved from beginning to end. The playwright has cleverly written his text with sharp exchanges between the characters and it is to the actors credit that they bring such text fully alive. There is as well a real battle of ideas in the play, as evidenced by the opposing sides, taken by the Marquise and Julie. It is the old vanguard fighting to keep its supremacy, and finally, its place against the onslaught of youth and its ideas. Nowhere is this more evident than in the last exchange between the Marquise and the President where the latter tells the former that it is but natural for youth to triumph against what is old. And the Marquise herself concedes to Julie that youth and time is on her side. While the Marquise realizes that she is vanquished she doesn’t go down without a fight, and her parting words fly straight to their mark.