Les parents terribles
Encyclopedia
Les Parents terribles is a 1938 French play written by Jean Cocteau. Despite initial problems with censorship, it was revived on the French stage several times after its original production, and in 1948 a film adaptation
directed by Cocteau himself was released. English-language versions have been produced under various titles including Intimate Relations and Indiscretions.
. A concentrated period of work led to the completion of the text by the end of February. Its title was then La Roulotte ou la maison dans la lune ("The caravan or the house on the moon"), referring to the negligent way of life of certain characters, and the unrealistic attitude of others. Cocteau intended the five roles for specific actors: Yvonne de Bray
, Madeleine Ozeray
, Gabrielle Dorziat, Louis Jouvet
, and Jean Marais (and the first two of these lent their first names to the characters).
The play mingles elements of tragedy and farce. Cocteau said that he wanted to write in the manner of popular theatre ("une pièce de boulevard") - but also to make it a portrait of such theatre. He was seeking to engage with his audience while raising to the level of tragedy a theme that was almost out of "vaudeville".
Initially it was proposed that Jouvet should produce the play at his Théâtre de l'Athénée, but he then rejected the piece and withdrew from the project. It then took several months of searching for a theatre before Cocteau made an agreement with Roger Capgras and Alice Cocéa
to present the play at the Théâtre des Ambassadeurs in Paris. Rehearsals were troubled and several changes of cast took place. Alice Cocéa took over the role of Madeleine and Marcel André took the part of Georges. Most significantly, Yvonne de Bray became ill and had to be replaced by Germaine Dermoz. (The published version of the play was still dedicated to Yvonne de Bray.)
The first performance took place on 14 November 1938. The initial reaction of the Parisian critics was predominantly enthusiastic. "A kind of triumph for the theatre, the author, and the actors" was one judgment. Only the right-wing press took a different view, deploring the play's apparently loose morality. Robert Brasillach
wrote a particularly vehement attack on the play, referring to its putrefaction ("pourriture"), defilement ("profanation"), and filth ("ordure"): "the smell of dirty linen fills the whole play". Although numerous aspects of the play were cited to support these denunciations, it was the allegation that it portrayed an incestuous relationship between mother and son which caused the greatest controversy.
None of this deterred the public from attending in large numbers, but the play's initial run was brought to an abrupt halt when a proposal to hold a free performance for older children from local schools met with outraged objections. The theatre was controlled by the city authorities, and a decision to terminate the production was carried through amid fierce arguments. Within a few weeks however, the play was installed at another theatre, the Bouffes-Parisiens, where it ran for 300 performances.
The family visit Madeleine in her apartment where they are impressed by her modest and well-disciplined manner. Michel's initial joy at this apparent reconciliation turns to despair as Madeleine is blackmailed into rejecting him by Georges's secret threats. Yvonne consoles her son with satisfaction as they return home. Léo however is appalled by the cruelty and selfishness of what has been done and decides to support Madeleine.
The next day Léo persuades Georges, and then the more reluctant Yvonne, that the only way to rescue the inconsolable Michel is to allow him to marry Madeleine. Michel and Madeleine are joyfully reunited, but Yvonne is unnoticed as she slips away and takes an overdose of insulin. When the others realise what she has done, it is too late to save her. A new order is established in the "roulotte".
In October 1941, during the German occupation of Paris, the play was revived at the Théâtre du Gymnase
with its dedicatee Yvonne de Bray appearing in it for the first time. Serge Reggiani
replaced Jean Marais in the role of Michel. Influential enemies of Cocteau mounted a campaign of opposition and at the first performances rats were released in the auditorium and tear-gas bombs were thrown on the stage. The play was banned by the city authorities. The ban was briefly lifted in December and the play resumed amid further disturbances before being swiftly cancelled again.
After the war Les Parents terribles was revived again at the Théâtre du Gymnase in February 1946, and this time found almost the ideal cast that Cocteau had envisaged. Yvonne de Bray, Gabrielle Dorziat, Marcel André and Jean Marais returned to their roles, and Josette Day
took the part of Madeleine. It ran for over 500 performances, with later cast changes, and in 1949 the production formed part of a theatrical tour which Cocteau organised in the Middle East.
In 1977, Jean Marais directed a new Paris production at the Théâtre Antoine, in which he himself now played the role of Georges. The rest of the cast were Lila Kedrova
(Yvonne), France Delahalle (Léo), Caroline Silhol (Madeleine), and François Duval (Michel). It had 260 performances in Paris, and subsequently was taken on international tour and was recorded for French television.
, Vivienne Bennett, and Martita Hunt
.
In 1951 a London production under the title Intimate Relations, in a translation by Charles Frank, was presented at the Strand Theatre, starring Fay Compton
.
In 1994 the National Theatre in London produced the play, as Les Parents terribles, using a new translation by Jeremy Sams
. The director was Sean Mathias
, and the cast consisted of Sheila Gish
(Yvonne), Frances de la Tour
(Leo), Alan Howard
(George), Lynsey Baxter
(Madeleine), and Jude Law
(Michael/Michel).
The same production, under the new title Indiscretions, was presented in New York in 1995 at the Barrymore Theater, again with Jude Law but with different actors in the other roles: Kathleen Turner
(Yvonne), Eileen Atkins
(Leo), Roger Rees
, and Cynthia Nixon
.
(1948) was Cocteau's own film adaption of his play, which featured the cast from the 1946 Paris stage production.
Intimate Relations
(1953) was a British film version, directed by Charles Frank. It was shown at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival (when Cocteau coincidentally was president of the jury).
Les parents terribles (film)
Les Parents terribles is a 1948 film adaptation directed by Jean Cocteau from his own stage play Les Parents terribles. Cocteau used the same cast who had appeared in a successful stage revival of the play in Paris in 1946...
directed by Cocteau himself was released. English-language versions have been produced under various titles including Intimate Relations and Indiscretions.
History
In January 1938 Cocteau wanted to concentrate on writing a new play and left Paris to stay in Montargis, accompanied by Jean MaraisJean Marais
-Biography:A native of Cherbourg, France, Marais starred in several movies directed by Jean Cocteau, for a time his lover, most famously Beauty and the Beast and Orphée ....
. A concentrated period of work led to the completion of the text by the end of February. Its title was then La Roulotte ou la maison dans la lune ("The caravan or the house on the moon"), referring to the negligent way of life of certain characters, and the unrealistic attitude of others. Cocteau intended the five roles for specific actors: Yvonne de Bray
Yvonne de Bray
Yvonne de Bray was a French stage and film actress. She was born Yvonne Laurence Blanche de Bray in Paris and died there.-Selected filmography:1952 – We Are All Murderers1950 – Olivia1949 – Gigi...
, Madeleine Ozeray
Madeleine Ozeray
Madeleine Ozeray , was a French stage and film actress. She appeared in many films between 1932 and 1980...
, Gabrielle Dorziat, Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet
Louis Jouvet was a renowned French actor, director, and theatre director.- Life :Overcoming speech impediments and sometimes paralyzing stage fright as a young man, Jouvet's first important association was with Jacques Copeau's Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, beginning in 1913...
, and Jean Marais (and the first two of these lent their first names to the characters).
The play mingles elements of tragedy and farce. Cocteau said that he wanted to write in the manner of popular theatre ("une pièce de boulevard") - but also to make it a portrait of such theatre. He was seeking to engage with his audience while raising to the level of tragedy a theme that was almost out of "vaudeville".
Initially it was proposed that Jouvet should produce the play at his Théâtre de l'Athénée, but he then rejected the piece and withdrew from the project. It then took several months of searching for a theatre before Cocteau made an agreement with Roger Capgras and Alice Cocéa
Alice Cocéa
Alice Sophie Cocéa or Cocea was a Romanian-born French actress and singer. She was the sister of socialist journalist and novelist N. D. Cocea, and the aunt of actresses Dina and Tantzi Cocea.-Biography:...
to present the play at the Théâtre des Ambassadeurs in Paris. Rehearsals were troubled and several changes of cast took place. Alice Cocéa took over the role of Madeleine and Marcel André took the part of Georges. Most significantly, Yvonne de Bray became ill and had to be replaced by Germaine Dermoz. (The published version of the play was still dedicated to Yvonne de Bray.)
The first performance took place on 14 November 1938. The initial reaction of the Parisian critics was predominantly enthusiastic. "A kind of triumph for the theatre, the author, and the actors" was one judgment. Only the right-wing press took a different view, deploring the play's apparently loose morality. Robert Brasillach
Robert Brasillach
Robert Brasillach was a French author and journalist. Brasillach is best known as the editor of Je suis partout, a nationalist newspaper which came to advocate various fascist movements and supported Jacques Doriot...
wrote a particularly vehement attack on the play, referring to its putrefaction ("pourriture"), defilement ("profanation"), and filth ("ordure"): "the smell of dirty linen fills the whole play". Although numerous aspects of the play were cited to support these denunciations, it was the allegation that it portrayed an incestuous relationship between mother and son which caused the greatest controversy.
None of this deterred the public from attending in large numbers, but the play's initial run was brought to an abrupt halt when a proposal to hold a free performance for older children from local schools met with outraged objections. The theatre was controlled by the city authorities, and a decision to terminate the production was carried through amid fierce arguments. Within a few weeks however, the play was installed at another theatre, the Bouffes-Parisiens, where it ran for 300 performances.
Synopsis
In a rambling apartment, a middle-aged couple, Yvonne and Georges, live with their 22-year old son Michel and Yvonne's spinster sister Léonie ("tante Léo"), who has also been in love with Georges. Yvonne is a reclusive semi-invalid, dependent on her insulin treatment, and intensely possessive of her son (who returns her immoderate affection and calls her "Sophie"); Georges distractedly pursues his eccentric inventions; it is left to Léo to preserve such order as she can in their life and their apartment, which she describes as a "gypsy caravan" ("la roulotte"). When Michel announces that he is in love with a girl, Madeleine, whom he wishes to introduce to them, his parents are immediately hostile and seek to forbid the relationship, reducing Michel to despair. Georges realises that Madeleine is the same woman who has been his own mistress in recent months, and he confesses all to Léo, who devises a plan to extricate father and son by forcing Madeleine into silent surrender of them both.The family visit Madeleine in her apartment where they are impressed by her modest and well-disciplined manner. Michel's initial joy at this apparent reconciliation turns to despair as Madeleine is blackmailed into rejecting him by Georges's secret threats. Yvonne consoles her son with satisfaction as they return home. Léo however is appalled by the cruelty and selfishness of what has been done and decides to support Madeleine.
The next day Léo persuades Georges, and then the more reluctant Yvonne, that the only way to rescue the inconsolable Michel is to allow him to marry Madeleine. Michel and Madeleine are joyfully reunited, but Yvonne is unnoticed as she slips away and takes an overdose of insulin. When the others realise what she has done, it is too late to save her. A new order is established in the "roulotte".
Productions
The original production, by Roger Capgras and Alice Cocéa, was mounted at the Théâtre des Ambassadeurs in Paris between 14 November and 20 December 1938. After this run was terminated amid accusations of immorality, the production was transferred to the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in January 1939 where it continued until the outbreak of World War II.In October 1941, during the German occupation of Paris, the play was revived at the Théâtre du Gymnase
Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell
The Théâtre du Gymnase or Théâtre du Gymnase Marie Bell, is a theatre in Paris, at 38, boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle in the 10th arrondissement .-History:...
with its dedicatee Yvonne de Bray appearing in it for the first time. Serge Reggiani
Serge Reggiani
Serge Reggiani was an Italian-born French singer and actor. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight...
replaced Jean Marais in the role of Michel. Influential enemies of Cocteau mounted a campaign of opposition and at the first performances rats were released in the auditorium and tear-gas bombs were thrown on the stage. The play was banned by the city authorities. The ban was briefly lifted in December and the play resumed amid further disturbances before being swiftly cancelled again.
After the war Les Parents terribles was revived again at the Théâtre du Gymnase in February 1946, and this time found almost the ideal cast that Cocteau had envisaged. Yvonne de Bray, Gabrielle Dorziat, Marcel André and Jean Marais returned to their roles, and Josette Day
Josette Day
Josette Day was a French film actress.Born in Paris, she began her career as an actress in 1919 at the age of five...
took the part of Madeleine. It ran for over 500 performances, with later cast changes, and in 1949 the production formed part of a theatrical tour which Cocteau organised in the Middle East.
In 1977, Jean Marais directed a new Paris production at the Théâtre Antoine, in which he himself now played the role of Georges. The rest of the cast were Lila Kedrova
Lila Kedrova
Lila Kedrova was a Russian-born French actress.-Biography:Kedrova claimed to have been born in 1918, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Her parents were Russian opera singers. Lila Kedrova's brother was Nikolay Kedrov, Jr...
(Yvonne), France Delahalle (Léo), Caroline Silhol (Madeleine), and François Duval (Michel). It had 260 performances in Paris, and subsequently was taken on international tour and was recorded for French television.
Principal English-language productions
An English version of Les Parents terribles, translated by Caroline Francke, was produced in May 1940 at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. The cast included Cyril CusackCyril Cusack
Cyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
, Vivienne Bennett, and Martita Hunt
Martita Hunt
Martita Hunt was an English theatre and film actress.-Early life:Hunt was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 30 January 1900 to British parents Alfred and Marta Hunt...
.
In 1951 a London production under the title Intimate Relations, in a translation by Charles Frank, was presented at the Strand Theatre, starring Fay Compton
Fay Compton
Fay Compton was an English actress from a notable acting lineage; her father was actor/manager Edward Compton; her mother, Virginia Bateman, was a distinguished member of the profession, as were her sister, the actress Viola Compton, and her uncles and aunts. Her grandfather was the 19th-century...
.
In 1994 the National Theatre in London produced the play, as Les Parents terribles, using a new translation by Jeremy Sams
Jeremy Sams
Jeremy Sams is a British film director, writer, translator, orchestrator, musical director, film composer, and lyricist....
. The director was Sean Mathias
Sean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.Mathias was born in Swansea, south Wales. He is known for directing the film, Bent, and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney...
, and the cast consisted of Sheila Gish
Sheila Gish
Sheila Gish was a British stage and television actress.She was born Sheila Anne Gash in Lincoln, studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and made her stage debut with a repertory company....
(Yvonne), Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour is an English actress perhaps best known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the British sitcom Rising Damp, and as Madame Olympe Maxime in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.-Early life and family:De la...
(Leo), Alan Howard
Alan Howard
Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE, is an English actor known for his roles on stage, television and film.He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983, and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.-Personal life:Howard is the only son of the actor...
(George), Lynsey Baxter
Lynsey Baxter
Lynsey Baxter is an English actress. Born in London, she began as a child actress in 1974 and later trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
(Madeleine), and Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
(Michael/Michel).
The same production, under the new title Indiscretions, was presented in New York in 1995 at the Barrymore Theater, again with Jude Law but with different actors in the other roles: Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
(Yvonne), Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
(Leo), Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
, and Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
.
Adaptations
Les Parents terriblesLes parents terribles (film)
Les Parents terribles is a 1948 film adaptation directed by Jean Cocteau from his own stage play Les Parents terribles. Cocteau used the same cast who had appeared in a successful stage revival of the play in Paris in 1946...
(1948) was Cocteau's own film adaption of his play, which featured the cast from the 1946 Paris stage production.
Intimate Relations
Intimate Relations (1953 film)
Intimate Relations is a 1953 British drama film directed by Charles Frank. It was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Harold Warrender - George* Marian Spencer - Yvonne* Ruth Dunning - Leonie* William Russell - Michael...
(1953) was a British film version, directed by Charles Frank. It was shown at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival (when Cocteau coincidentally was president of the jury).