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Thé à la menthe ou t'es citron
Patrick Haudecoeur et Danielle Navarro-Haudecoeur
Thé à la menthe ou t'es citron
photo: Dominique Deschamps
Actes du théâtre n° 37.[ imprimer ]
A troupe of actors is rehearsing a light comedy. It`s a few days from opening night, and nothing is ready. The tech crew is phlegmatic, the costume designer is out of the loop and the director is out of his depth.
The actors are wired, and the lead actress is on the verge of a nervous breakdown - because of the young leading man, imposed by his father, the producer. What next! Awkward, shy, naive and goofy, he`s taking his first baby steps on stage.
Opening night arrives and everything goes haywire! "

"Actor and successful musical playwright Patrick Haudecoeur had the excellent idea of reviving Thé à la menthe ou t’es citron, a humorous piece that is irresistible in every repect. The audience is watching a rehearsal for a play that is far from being ready - extremely far. But opening night does indeed arrive, and the audience explodes in uninterrupted laughter as they revel in this nightmare. The comic situations are superbly inventive and the humor striking. In this extremely well-run operation going at full tilt, audiences are so delighted they can hardly catch their breath under the avalanche of gags."
Brice Michelin, Paru Vendu, 4-10 February 2010

Revived at the Théâtre Fontaine on 12 January 2010. (First staged at the Café de la Gare on 5 June 1991, then at the Théâtre des Variétés in September 1992.)
Director: Patrick Haudecoeur. Cast: Sandra Biadalla, Nathalie Cerda, Patrick Haudecoeur, Jean-Pierre Lazzerini ou Bob Martet, Jean-Luc Porraz, Edouard Pretet, Isabelle Spade.

Translated into Italian.

Characters : 3 women - 4 men -

CLARA No it`s good that way. It`s...different! But watch out for your diction. It`s my ``perfect plan,`` not ``my plerfect pan.``
JULIEN Ok!
CLARA Take it where you left off and keep going.
JULIEN What a stroke of luck - her husband`s out! I hadn`t dared hope for as much - now I can set up my plerfect pan!
CLARA No Juju! My perfect plan!
JULIEN Right, sorry.… What a stroke of luck - her husband`s out! I hadn`t dared hope for as much - now I can set up my plerfect pan!
CLARA No!
JULIEN What a stroke of luck - her husband`s out…
CLARA Julien!!! Repeat after me! My plan…
JULIEN My plan
CLARA Is
JULIEN Is
CLARA Perfect.
JULIEN Perfect.
CLARA My perfect plan!
JULIEN My plerfect pan!
CLARA …
SOPHIA Are you doing this on purpose, or are you just stupid!?
JULIEN I swear I`m not doing it on purpose!
CLARA That`s enough!
JULIEN Could we maybe change the line?
CLARA Don`t even think of it. What would the playwright say!
JULIEN I could just say the beginning: ``What a stroke of luck - her husband`s out! I hadn`t dared hope for as much - now I can set up.``
CLARA Set up what? It doesn`t mean anything!
JULIEN Or: What a stroke of luck - her husband`s out! I hadn`t dared hope for as much - now I can set up...No, I`m not telling you anymore!
SOPHIA Interesting! Have you ever thought about writing?
JULIEN No!
SOPHIA Good!
ROBERT (from upstage) Bernie, could you please turn the lights on in the dressing rooms?
BERNARD (off) OK.
CLARA It`s just a small detail. We`ll deal with that later. Remember darlings, opening night is in three days and we`ve got our work cut out for us! So - let`s get going!