Eight Obscene Plays from the French Erotic Theatre of the 18th and 19th Centuries

by John Franceschina

The first series of five plays comes from the two-volume Le Théâtre gaillard, revu et augmenté, 1776-1865 (Bawdy Theatre, revised and expanded, 1776-1865): from volume one, the three-act comedy, The Bordello, and the three-act verse tragedy, Vasta, Queen of Bordelleo; from volume two, the one-act verse tragedy, The New Messaline, the free-verse three-act comedy, The Pleasures of the Cloister, and the one-act vaudeville (with songs), The Intrigue at the Brothel. The remaining plays were found in Le Théâtre Erotique de la rue de la Santé son histoire (The Erotic Theatre in the street called la Santé its story) (1864-1866): the three-act vaudeville, Dollar Sign, the comedy of manners, The Games of Love and the Marketplace, and the one-act comedy, The Grisette and the Student. These three plays and Vasta are the only works in this collection that appear to have been performed, and production details are included with the translations of the plays. The four other dramatic pieces, though intended for performance, were not produced (for reasons that will become apparent when reading the plays). Obscene plays offer an unapologetically coarse commodification of sex, though the reader will find that in several cases, the author found it necessary to defend his work by way of an apologetic introduction, or by distancing himself from the claims of authorship. Whatever the case, the social and sexual mores of France between 1730 and 1865 are inherently reflected in the sexual discourse of every play.

202 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brace yourselves.

So Princess Cuntilda is trying to decide who to marry between two suitors - Limp-Dick and Fuck-Six-Times. They were nicknamed by her mother Queen Vasta who tried out the goods personally and made a clear choice - though Limp-Dick complains that his problems were due to the Queen’s own attributes, as she is described;

”More than one time too wide, and two times too deep;
The wind, which swept through that vast edifice,
Forced me to go limp”

So a duel ensues, with much tragedy - partly thanks to a local mule. Many lessons learned, and at least one pair of testicles now decorates the royal palace. It’s a short play but as you might notice, it does pack a punch. Apparently it was performed at least once, though this may be an elaborate slur on the actors named.

All the stars are for this one play ‘Vasta, Queen of Bordello’ - the others are mostly parodies of songs and other works of the time. I’m sure they were hilarious in their day.

Thanks to JB for the thoughtful birthday present