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In Feydeau’s work, all misunderstandings and slamming doors, THE LOSER is a moment of pure hysteria, a kind of quintessence of the author’s work. In a sort of comic pendant to Zola’s Nana,
Feydeau puts on stage characters guided only by the power of their desires, the will to possess someone else, the exclusive passion for pleasure. In such a society however the places are limited, the combinations difficult. On stage this provides a game of musical chairs that is perfectly hilarious. Those who are not at first motivated by the follies of love end up joining the dance. It all provides a cavalcade which explodes into craziness and hilarious situations. However, there is also in THE LOSER a panic force, an urge to go to extremes which encourages certain dark views of the tragic dimension of the human condition.
Dans la bibliotheque de Cleanthe
George Feydeau created THE LOSER in 1896 with codes appropriate to a now remote era. Arranged marriages often brought men and women together while leaving each the opportunity to let his or her heart take an interest somewhere else. Being caught in the act in the presence of the police was the rule when one or another of the parties wished to put an end to a less truly satisfying union. In THE LOSER the dialogue is studded with double meanings and cleverly placed stings. This awareness of conventions works marvelously when it is recreated in the 2lst century.
Stanislas Claude, Publik Art
