Le Rendez-Vous De Senlis & Leocadia

by Jean Anouilh

"Tu ne peux pas savoir ce que c'est que d'avoir un copain qui est plus beau que vous, plus malin que vous à l'école et qui, après, devient riche par-dessus le marché ! C'est cela qui doit être beau dans les révolutions, tu vois, même si on s'en fout comme moi, voir crever ceux qui étaient heureux !"

Genres: Theatre, Drama, Plays

256 pages, Pocket Book

First published January 1, 1941

About the author

Jean Anouilh was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades, producing works that ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, though he is best remembered for his 1944 production of Sophocles’ Antigone, which, despite passing censorship, was widely interpreted as a critique of the Vichy regime. Born to a tailor father and a violinist mother, Anouilh absorbed the theatre from an early age, attending rehearsals and reading scripts, and began writing plays at twelve. The family moved to Paris, where he attended the Lycée Chaptal and briefly studied law at the Sorbonne before leaving to work in advertising. Early in his career he wrote comic scenes for cinema and worked as secretary to director Louis Jouvet, whose mentorship and the influence of playwright Jean Giraudoux inspired Anouilh to pursue theatre seriously. He debuted with collaborative and solo plays such as Humulus le muet, L’Hermine, and Mandarine, which, though not commercially successful, led to greater recognition with Le voyageur sans bagage in 1937. Anouilh developed distinct categories for his plays, including pièces noires, or tragedies like Antigone, exploring moral integrity against compromise; pièces roses, comedic works emphasizing fantasy and freedom; pièces brillantes, witty plays set in aristocratic environments; pièces grinçantes, darker, ironic comedies; and pièces costumées, historical dramas such as The Lark and Becket, highlighting protagonists pursuing moral paths amidst corruption. His later works, often called pièces secrètes, focused on dramatists and theatre professionals, emphasizing family and intimate relationships over conventional theatrical action. Politically, Anouilh remained largely apolitical, serving in the French Army and living under German occupation, his plays often interpreted as ambivalent reflections on resistance and pragmatism. Critically, he was recognized for blending lyrical language, precise dialogue, and structured plots, producing a prolific output for over fifty years, and winning accolades including the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca, consideration for the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the inaugural Grand Prix du Théâtre de l'Académie française. His works continued to be performed internationally, balancing existential concerns, moral dilemmas, and humor, reflecting a nuanced perspective on human nature. By the end of his career, he had influenced French theatre deeply, navigating between realism, comedy, and tragedy, and remained a vital figure in twentieth-century drama until his death, leaving a legacy of plays that explore the tension between idealism and compromise, the demands of conscience, and the pursuit of integrity in a flawed world.

Reviews

[Czarny Pies]

Ce livre contient les deux dernières pièces du groupe "rose" de Jean Anouilh. Les deux finissent bien avec la triomphe de l'amour vrai sur l'amour factice. Parce les dialogues sont très bien écrits et le lecteur accepte rapidement de suspendre volontaire son incrédulité devant des intrigues fabuleuses et des personnages tirées des contes de fées out des vaudevilles. Malheureusement les deux pièces n'ajoutent rien à la gloire d'Anouilh.
L'héros du "Rendez-vous de Senlis" est un protagoniste sans scrupule entouré des ordures. Il trompe et sa femme qu'il a épousé uniquement pour son argent. Il prend la femme de son meilleur ami comme maitresse qu'il l'a trompe à son tour. Finalement il tombe sur une jeune fille pure et constante. Il renonce à sa femme riche et sa maitresse aguichante afin de repartir à zéro. C'est le mythe de l'homme incapable de fidélité transformé par la femme de son destin. Dans la version présentée par Anouilh, c'est plutôt difficile à croire. À la fin, le lecteur se demande pourquoi il a décidé de rentrer dans le jeu d'Anouilh.
"L.éocadia" raconte l'histoire d'un prince qui connait un amour fulgurant de trois jours avec une cantatrice qui meure théâtralement et laisse le prince inconsolable. Il sombre dans un monde d'illusion. Sa tante recrute une modiste pour être le sosie de la défunte Léocadia et ainsi de faire voir la réalité au Prince. La modiste hésite car elle préfère travailler dans son métier mais elle accède finalement d'essayer. Le prince résiste. Il ne l'aime pas parce qu'elle préfère l'anisette à la champagne et trahit ses origines des couches populaires de la société française avec chaque phrase qu'elle prononce. Malgré tout, la modiste réussit le défi In extremis. Le prince tombe amoureux d'elle et de cette manière réintègre la vie réelle. Quand le rideau final tombe, le public croit que le couple sera heureux pour le reste de leurs jours.

[Ryan]

I preferred Léocadia to Le Rendez-vous de Senlis.

[Realini Ionescu]

Le Rendez- Vous de Senlis by Jean Anouilh

Let me see if I got this right-



George is a young married man, no longer capable to live with his wife.

He has more than an affair; he falls in love with Isabelle.

In order to seduce her, and perhaps for other psychoanalyzeable reasons, George tells Isabelle quite a few stories about:

- His friend Robert, who is very worthy in George’s fiction, but rather despicable in reality

- The parents that would come for a dinner

In fact, the introduction that I heard today is rather intriguing. The version of the play that I listened to was adapted for the Romanian Radio.

I am not sure how much has been changed from the original, if anything.

George is making the arrangements with a landlady, from whom he is renting a place for which he has to sign an inventory. The play has quite a few humorous moments- the woman is presenting an incredible number of pages (was it 37?) to be signed and accounted for at the end of the lease.

The trouble is they are inaccurate:

- The paper mentions flowers in the decoration

- Well…

- There are no flowers…

- The material for this piece is not mentioned

- It isn’t

- But what if at the end you say it was made of gold?!

George is just teasing, but the preposterous inventory is still amusing. He signs it nevertheless.

A maitre d’hôtel from a nearby locale is presented on stage and he has brought meals for a special diner for four. George talks to him about paying an important amount in order to serve at the table and…pretend that he is an old servant…

- Would you please say that you played with me on your knees when I was a child?

- It is strange…

- I will pay you 400 francs

- Ok then!

A couple is introduced as actors and their “roles „will be to play the part of George’s parents and they are willing to do that for the right amount of money…including expenses.

We gradually learn about the infatuation of George and the fact that he had invented a friend- Robert and a family. And then a neighbor comes with an urgent and dreadful message for the young man:

- Do something before eight, or all hell will break loose.

So the audience finds out that George is married to Henriette, who will cause a world of trouble unless…

Isabelle comes in, finding the actors and the maitre d’ in turmoil, upset and complaining about the situation. They act in a terrible way, taking advantage and getting much more money than they bargained for.

The maitre d’hôtel cheats with the bill and asks for 800 francs, taking advantage of the fact that Isabelle does not know what the deal was.

We get acquainted with Barbara, a positive personage, who is married to Robert and acts defending George and his chance to become happy.

Robert proves to be a villain, two-faced little monster who is envious, petty, ungrateful and mean. The Robert that George had invented has nothing in common with his “real friend” except for the name.

I will not say what happens towards the end, but I will mention that I enjoyed the play.

[stasia]

J’ai préféré Le rendez-vous de Senlis à Léocadia

[Asyoulikeit]

the stars are only for 'Le Rendez-Vous De Senlis'