#Paris In July Labiche

• Author:  Eugene Labiche (1815-1888)
• Genre:  play
• Title:  La Cangotte (the kitty in a card game)
• Published:  1864
• #ParisInJuly

• This play is a farce or comedy of errors
• as it contains multiple misunderstandings and mistaken identities.
• It uses comedy of manners.
• Labicche ridicules the manners of a particular society
• …in this case the the upper class provincials who decide to visit Paris!
• They want to spend the $$ in the “la Cangotte” but their
• adventure “partir en sucette” (gets out of hand)

Conclusion:

• Plot: intricate and farcical
• involving coincidences
• multiple misunderstandings and mistaken identities.
• meetings both missed and accidental.
• Characters: exaggerated bumpkins who are out of their depth in Paris
• Features: horseplay, slapstick, physical comedy

Last thoughts:

• I never heard of Eugene Labiche!
• He wrote 56 plays during the 19th C.
• Weak point: chatter dialogue that doesn’t usually go anywhere
• There is no verbal wit as you find in Oscar Wilde’s plays.
• La Cangotte felt like a pie without the filling
• …crust is good but there must be more.

• I had difficulty following the conversation.
• It is fired off like rounds of bullets in a machine gun
• in bursts of half sentences, phrases and exclamations.
• Who is who? The 3 main male character’s names all begin with C
• …is he the farmer, pensioner or the pharmacist?
• I needed a list to keep me on track.

• The play must be seen on stage to appreciate it’s strong point
• ….physical comedy!
• So would I read any more plays by Labiche?
• No….
• Molière is the playwright with the best credentials!