Cremorne Theatre, QPAC, 7 Febraury – 12 March
With: Jonathan Brand, Dan Crestani, Eugene Gilfedder, Hayden Spencer and Neridah Waters.

Sacré Bleu! A double bill of classic French farce

If these people make you laugh – Abbot & Costello (I guess you can also include the former political farcical duo here as well), Fawlty Towers with their meticulous escalation of lunacy, Mr Bean, Jerry Lewis, Jaques Tati, and Inspector Clouseau – then do yourself a favour and get your laughing gear to Queensland Theatre Company’s first production for 2011.

If you saw either The Chairs by Ionesco or Waiting for Godot by Beckett last year you have some idea of where French farce may take you. However, well before Ionesco and Beckett, and in similar fashion, Feydeau had underlined the absurdity of social institutions, the stupidity of ordinary speech and small talk, the impossibility of true communication despite constant talking, the incompatibility of the sexes as couples destroy and strip each other of their dignity, the ultimate isolation of the individual and the fate of man as a simple puppet, the plaything of inexorable forces and a capricious fate.

I’d love to tell you I wrote that but I am quoting Manuel Estaban in his summation of Feydeau.

So while I’m wildly quoting here’s something from John Cleese: “The emotions in farce are more intense than in ordinary comedy. The result is that there’s more energy, and therefore bigger laughs at stake. When you combine that with the intellectual perfection of clockwork timing, it’s profoundly satisfying.”

Sacré Bleu! is a madcap night of murder, mystery and mayhem which features two French comedies freshly translated into English - The Coal Seller Affair by Eugène Labiche and Jailbird by Georges Feydeau. Both shows feature misunderstandings, cross-purposes, mistaken identities, and intricate plotlines.

CLICK: www.queenslandtheatre.com.au
CALL: 136 246 Qtix