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Le Jardin
Brigitte Buc
Le Jardin
Isabelle Gélinas, Marc FayetIsabelle Gélinas, Marc Fayet - Photo Jean-Paul Lozouet
Actes du théâtre n° 24.[ imprimer ]
Jeanne is extremely pig-headed, Antoine has left his job,
Philippe has too many children, Suzanne is old and alone,
Violette misses the country. In their little neighbourhood
garden, wrested from the city, they piece together a strange
family life during the four seasons of one year.

« This show is a miracle of delicacy  a discreet,
diffident and subtle play. »
Jean-Luc Jeener, Le Figaro Magazine, 23 December
2006

«This play has a delicate charm full of reserve and humour.
Troubles of the heart are dealt here with great subtlety
and invigorating causticity.»
Marion Thébaud, Le Figaro, 12 September 2006

«This fine play leads you towards life and love while
exploring the darker side of existence. In this garden
cleverly landscaped with shade and sun, every line is
sprinkled with a biting humour which has just the right
dose of wickedness.»
M.A., Le Point, 21 September 2006

Opened at the Théâtre des Mathurins, 5 September 2006 – 7
January 2007. Tour scheduled for 2008.
Director: Jean Bouchaud. Cast: Annik Alane, Isabelle Gélinas,
Marc Fayet, Guillaume de Tonquédec and Cécile Rebboah.

Characters : 3 women - 2 men -
Avant-Scène - www.avant-scene-theatre.com www.avant-scene-theatre.com

JEANNE You¡¦re acting really aggressive, you know. I
admitted I was wrong, I apologized, everything was fine and
we were having a nice talk, then ƒ{ wham! ƒ{ you suddenly
get hostile just when I¡¦m feeling completely defenceless
and vulnerable.
She has tears in her eyes.
ANTOINE You¡¦re over-reacting. I didn¡¦t say anything that
awful to you.
JEANNE Yes you did! You said you weren¡¦t inviting me to
your housewarming party! I think that¡¦s really rotten of
you!
ANTOINE But I don¡¦t even know if I¡¦m having one yet. I¡¦m
not even sure I have enough friends. If I¡¦m generous in my
calculations, there may be three people I¡¦d really like to
see. That¡¦s ridiculous for a housewarming party. They¡¦d
see how few they were and get the willies for being at
someone¡¦s house who has so few friends. No, the
housewarming party is a very bad idea. All things
considered, I think I¡¦ll drop it.
JEANNE Oh stop it, that¡¦s even more humiliating! You
don¡¦t have to justify it, or make up such a story just so
you don¡¦t have to invite me. People are sadistic in any
case. There¡¦s always one person in a group that doesn¡¦t
get invited. That way the others feel united. I¡¦ve felt
that way ever since I was a little girl.
At school I pretended to be interested in everyone¡¦s little
stories all week long. Then Friday evening would come and ƒ{
bam! ƒ{ I was the only one without an invitation to a
birthday party for some little snot-nosed girl. Now I¡¦m
almost thirty-five and it¡¦s still going on! And now here I
am with some guy l didn¡¦t ask for anything ƒ{ not a thing
ƒ{ in some square where I came to relax after a rotten day,
and it starts all over again. I don¡¦t get invited! You¡¦re
sadistic too. But I don¡¦t give a toss about your
housewarming party in your studio that smells like paint.
I¡¦ll be better off at home alone reading a book than
wolfing down gingerbread with nasty bits of foie gras on
top. You can keep your envelope with your invitation, I
don¡¦t give a damn!
ANTOINE (watching her attentively, dumbfounded) Have
you ever heard of Omega 3? There was a guy talking about it
on the radio the other day who was really convincing. You
should try it.
JEANNE Good-bye and thanks for the comforting words. You
really can¡¦t expect anything from people, especially when
you¡¦re feeling a bit vulnerable. A second of inattention
and they shove you down, and bang you on the head. There¡¦s
no mercy for the lame duck (Yelling.) Simon! We¡¦re
going home!
She exits.
ANTOINE (dumbfounded) Totally nuts¡K