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A Flea in Her Ear
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A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear (French: La Puce à l'oreille) is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque. The author called it a vaudeville, but in Anglophone countries, where it is the most popular of Feydeau's plays, it is usually described as a farce.
The plot hinges on the central characters having a double: a middle class businessman is indistinguishable from the hall porter of a shady hotel, and the two are persistently mistaken for each other, to the bafflement of both.
The play was first performed at the Théâtre des Nouveautés, Paris, on 2 March 1907. Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique said of the play, "It is a piece for which we need to invent a new description: funny, pleasing, comical, frenzied, dizzying, it is all those, and more. The action goes forward with such velocity, explosiveness, prestissimo, from start to finish that the actors and the audience cannot catch their breath for even a second." The play seemed set to rival the run of Feydeau's greatest success, La Dame de chez Maxim (1899, 579 performances) but was cut short by the sudden death of the actor playing Camille Chandebise, and was taken off after 86 performances.
The play is set in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. Raymonde Chandebise, after years of wedded bliss, begins to doubt the fidelity of her husband, Victor Emmanuel, who has suddenly become sexually inactive. Raymonde is unaware that his behaviour is due to a nervous condition. She confides her doubts to her old friend Lucienne, who suggests a trick to test him. They write him a letter, in Lucienne's handwriting, from a fictitious and anonymous admirer, requesting a rendezvous at the Hotel Coq d'Or, an establishment with a dubious reputation, but a large and prominent clientele. Raymonde intends to confront her husband there, and she and Lucienne leave to do so.
When Victor Emmanuel receives the letter he has no interest in such an affair and believes the invitation from the mysterious woman was meant for his best friend Tournel, a handsome bachelor. Unknown to Victor Emmanuel, Tournel has his eye on Raymonde and eagerly exits to make the appointment.
Camille, the young nephew of Victor Emmanuel, is overjoyed to have his speech impediment corrected by a new silver palate from Dr Finache. In celebration, he and the household cook, Antoinette, also hurry to the Hotel Coq d'Or, followed by Etienne, Antoinette's jealous husband. Dr Finache decides to go to the hotel in search of his own afternoon rendezvous.
Victor Emmanuel shows the letter to Lucienne's husband, Carlos Homenides de Histangua, a passionate and violent Spaniard. Carlos recognises Lucienne's handwriting and assumes that she is trying to start an affair with Victor Emmanuel. He runs off to the hotel, vowing to kill her. Victor Emmanuel, hoping to prevent the threatened murder, hurries off in pursuit.
The various characters arrive in search of their goals: Finache for fun; Raymonde for Victor Emmanuel; Tournel for Raymonde; Camille with Antoinette, followed by Etienne; Carlos for Lucienne; and Victor Emmanuel to stop Carlos.
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A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear (French: La Puce à l'oreille) is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque. The author called it a vaudeville, but in Anglophone countries, where it is the most popular of Feydeau's plays, it is usually described as a farce.
The plot hinges on the central characters having a double: a middle class businessman is indistinguishable from the hall porter of a shady hotel, and the two are persistently mistaken for each other, to the bafflement of both.
The play was first performed at the Théâtre des Nouveautés, Paris, on 2 March 1907. Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique said of the play, "It is a piece for which we need to invent a new description: funny, pleasing, comical, frenzied, dizzying, it is all those, and more. The action goes forward with such velocity, explosiveness, prestissimo, from start to finish that the actors and the audience cannot catch their breath for even a second." The play seemed set to rival the run of Feydeau's greatest success, La Dame de chez Maxim (1899, 579 performances) but was cut short by the sudden death of the actor playing Camille Chandebise, and was taken off after 86 performances.
The play is set in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. Raymonde Chandebise, after years of wedded bliss, begins to doubt the fidelity of her husband, Victor Emmanuel, who has suddenly become sexually inactive. Raymonde is unaware that his behaviour is due to a nervous condition. She confides her doubts to her old friend Lucienne, who suggests a trick to test him. They write him a letter, in Lucienne's handwriting, from a fictitious and anonymous admirer, requesting a rendezvous at the Hotel Coq d'Or, an establishment with a dubious reputation, but a large and prominent clientele. Raymonde intends to confront her husband there, and she and Lucienne leave to do so.
When Victor Emmanuel receives the letter he has no interest in such an affair and believes the invitation from the mysterious woman was meant for his best friend Tournel, a handsome bachelor. Unknown to Victor Emmanuel, Tournel has his eye on Raymonde and eagerly exits to make the appointment.
Camille, the young nephew of Victor Emmanuel, is overjoyed to have his speech impediment corrected by a new silver palate from Dr Finache. In celebration, he and the household cook, Antoinette, also hurry to the Hotel Coq d'Or, followed by Etienne, Antoinette's jealous husband. Dr Finache decides to go to the hotel in search of his own afternoon rendezvous.
Victor Emmanuel shows the letter to Lucienne's husband, Carlos Homenides de Histangua, a passionate and violent Spaniard. Carlos recognises Lucienne's handwriting and assumes that she is trying to start an affair with Victor Emmanuel. He runs off to the hotel, vowing to kill her. Victor Emmanuel, hoping to prevent the threatened murder, hurries off in pursuit.
The various characters arrive in search of their goals: Finache for fun; Raymonde for Victor Emmanuel; Tournel for Raymonde; Camille with Antoinette, followed by Etienne; Carlos for Lucienne; and Victor Emmanuel to stop Carlos.
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