La Farce Du Temoin & La Farce de Soeur Fessue
PRESENTED BY: Troupe L’On Donne, Department of French Studies, The University of Western Ontario
DIRECTOR: Dr. Mario Longtin
SYNOPSES:
"La Farce Du Témoin" (The Witness). A mother and her daughter are in a heated discussion. The mother tries to determine what to do after Colin dishonoured her daughter. Thankfully there is a witness: Guillot des Noix (Billy the Nut) who saw everything. Mother and daughter seek the Judge to give their version of the events and to present their case. Armed with her written account, the daughter and her mother present their case to the Judge. The mother wants reparation for the dishonour caused to her daughter by Colin. The seducer only succeeded because he promised to marry her. The Judge summonses Colin to appear in front of him and confronts him with the question: Did you carnally know this girl? Colin denies it. The mother calls him a liar and he replies in kind. She says she can prove her allegations. Colin dares her to do it. She produces her witness: Guillot. After swearing in the witness, the Judge asks him what he knows about the girl. The Witness then evades the question and in a series of lengthy answers compares the good old days and the immoral present. The Judge keeps redirecting the question without much luck until the witness finally admits that if sex is done the same way today as it was practiced in the good old days, then all is done and accomplished. He than recounts the meeting between Colin and the girl. He declares that she was resisting Colin’s advances, demanding that he promise to marry her. Colin then lowered his voice and said fromage instead of marriage to fool her in thinking he had said the word without saying it. Colin then completed his business to his satisfaction. Guillot tells the Judge he saw everything through a hole in the wall between his house and theirs. The Judge does not need to hear more. He declares Colin guilty and condemns him to pay 100 sous to the poor, to ask Marion for forgiveness on bare knees and to pay the court fees before he can leave jail. Furthermore, he will have to march to his local church with drums and bagpipes where he will marry Marion. The mother and daughter leave the court happy, Colin curses women and the witness. When they are all gone, Guillot addresses the audience to summarise the moral of the play: nobody should swear when knowingly lying.
"La Farce De Soeur Fessue" (Sister Hotbuns). Sisters Eplorée (Sobbing), De-Bon-Coeur (Goodheart) and Safrette (Frisky) gossip about the state of Sister (Fessue) Hotbuns, dishonoured and made pregnant by Frère Raide-y-Met (Friar Ready-Go). The three sisters are surprised since they all have done the same with the Friar without having a bun in the oven. Sister Sobbing decides to talk to the abbess about it. She shows up unexpectedly at the Abbess’ quarters to find the Mother Superior putting herself together in a hurry. Sister Sobbing hesitates before telling her superior about Sister Hotbuns but finally she spills the beans. Having a lover is acceptable in the convent but not being pregnant. The Abbess gives the order to assemble the chapter and summonses Sister Hotbuns to appear in front of her. All the nuns are assembled. The pregnant nun shows up and is submitted to close interrogation. The Abbess finds her rebellious, while Hotbuns argues that she did exactly like the other nuns. The Abbess points out the difference: none of the other nuns are pregnant. Sister Hotbuns then directs a quote from Scripture at the Abbess: one sees the speck in someone else’s eye but does not see the beam in one’s own. This leads Sister Hotbuns to divulge to everyone the codpiece the Abbess is wearing on her head. The other nuns investigate the Abbess’ new headpiece. Having no moral ground to stand on, and under pressure from the other nuns, the Abbess pardons Sister Hotbuns and by the same token frees her from her heavy belly in what looks like a miracle. One should not blame somebody for a sin that one is committing in secret.
COMPANY BIOGRAPHY: La Troupe de Théâtre L’On Donne is a French theatrical company based in the department of French Studies at the University of Western Ontario. For more than 10 years now, the company has been presenting one production a year in London in the other official language. Le Théâtre L’On Donne is made up of graduate students and professors from our department. The two farces we are presenting to you this weekend have not been staged since they were performed in Rouen (France) in the 16th century.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Mario B. Longtin is Associate Professor of French at the University of Western Ontario. He is a medievalist, a philologist and an historian of theatre. He is chief editor of ROMARD (Research On Medieval and Renaissance Drama). He is currently editing with European colleagues a 16th manuscript from the city of Rouen containing 74 play texts (the two farces you are about to see are from that repertoire). Mario has been artistic director of La Troupe L’On Donne for 10 years now and has directed numerous shows for the company, amongst which Britannicus (Racine), Ubu roi (Jarry), Le Vrai Monde (Michel Tremblay) and Dessine-moi un mouton, a collage of two farces (Jenin fils de rien and Le poullier à six personnages) with excerpts taken from Dario Fo’s Mistero Buffo.
RUNNING TIME: 45 minutes
VENUE: Emmanuel Hall
PERFORMANCE TIMES: Saturday June 6th at 4:30pm and Sunday June 7th at 11am and 1:45pm
TICKETS: $15 adult / $12.50 student (general admission)
NOTE - Performed in French with printed translations
WARNING - Sexual content; not suitable for young children
DIRECTOR: Dr. Mario Longtin
SYNOPSES:
"La Farce Du Témoin" (The Witness). A mother and her daughter are in a heated discussion. The mother tries to determine what to do after Colin dishonoured her daughter. Thankfully there is a witness: Guillot des Noix (Billy the Nut) who saw everything. Mother and daughter seek the Judge to give their version of the events and to present their case. Armed with her written account, the daughter and her mother present their case to the Judge. The mother wants reparation for the dishonour caused to her daughter by Colin. The seducer only succeeded because he promised to marry her. The Judge summonses Colin to appear in front of him and confronts him with the question: Did you carnally know this girl? Colin denies it. The mother calls him a liar and he replies in kind. She says she can prove her allegations. Colin dares her to do it. She produces her witness: Guillot. After swearing in the witness, the Judge asks him what he knows about the girl. The Witness then evades the question and in a series of lengthy answers compares the good old days and the immoral present. The Judge keeps redirecting the question without much luck until the witness finally admits that if sex is done the same way today as it was practiced in the good old days, then all is done and accomplished. He than recounts the meeting between Colin and the girl. He declares that she was resisting Colin’s advances, demanding that he promise to marry her. Colin then lowered his voice and said fromage instead of marriage to fool her in thinking he had said the word without saying it. Colin then completed his business to his satisfaction. Guillot tells the Judge he saw everything through a hole in the wall between his house and theirs. The Judge does not need to hear more. He declares Colin guilty and condemns him to pay 100 sous to the poor, to ask Marion for forgiveness on bare knees and to pay the court fees before he can leave jail. Furthermore, he will have to march to his local church with drums and bagpipes where he will marry Marion. The mother and daughter leave the court happy, Colin curses women and the witness. When they are all gone, Guillot addresses the audience to summarise the moral of the play: nobody should swear when knowingly lying.
"La Farce De Soeur Fessue" (Sister Hotbuns). Sisters Eplorée (Sobbing), De-Bon-Coeur (Goodheart) and Safrette (Frisky) gossip about the state of Sister (Fessue) Hotbuns, dishonoured and made pregnant by Frère Raide-y-Met (Friar Ready-Go). The three sisters are surprised since they all have done the same with the Friar without having a bun in the oven. Sister Sobbing decides to talk to the abbess about it. She shows up unexpectedly at the Abbess’ quarters to find the Mother Superior putting herself together in a hurry. Sister Sobbing hesitates before telling her superior about Sister Hotbuns but finally she spills the beans. Having a lover is acceptable in the convent but not being pregnant. The Abbess gives the order to assemble the chapter and summonses Sister Hotbuns to appear in front of her. All the nuns are assembled. The pregnant nun shows up and is submitted to close interrogation. The Abbess finds her rebellious, while Hotbuns argues that she did exactly like the other nuns. The Abbess points out the difference: none of the other nuns are pregnant. Sister Hotbuns then directs a quote from Scripture at the Abbess: one sees the speck in someone else’s eye but does not see the beam in one’s own. This leads Sister Hotbuns to divulge to everyone the codpiece the Abbess is wearing on her head. The other nuns investigate the Abbess’ new headpiece. Having no moral ground to stand on, and under pressure from the other nuns, the Abbess pardons Sister Hotbuns and by the same token frees her from her heavy belly in what looks like a miracle. One should not blame somebody for a sin that one is committing in secret.
COMPANY BIOGRAPHY: La Troupe de Théâtre L’On Donne is a French theatrical company based in the department of French Studies at the University of Western Ontario. For more than 10 years now, the company has been presenting one production a year in London in the other official language. Le Théâtre L’On Donne is made up of graduate students and professors from our department. The two farces we are presenting to you this weekend have not been staged since they were performed in Rouen (France) in the 16th century.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Mario B. Longtin is Associate Professor of French at the University of Western Ontario. He is a medievalist, a philologist and an historian of theatre. He is chief editor of ROMARD (Research On Medieval and Renaissance Drama). He is currently editing with European colleagues a 16th manuscript from the city of Rouen containing 74 play texts (the two farces you are about to see are from that repertoire). Mario has been artistic director of La Troupe L’On Donne for 10 years now and has directed numerous shows for the company, amongst which Britannicus (Racine), Ubu roi (Jarry), Le Vrai Monde (Michel Tremblay) and Dessine-moi un mouton, a collage of two farces (Jenin fils de rien and Le poullier à six personnages) with excerpts taken from Dario Fo’s Mistero Buffo.
RUNNING TIME: 45 minutes
VENUE: Emmanuel Hall
PERFORMANCE TIMES: Saturday June 6th at 4:30pm and Sunday June 7th at 11am and 1:45pm
TICKETS: $15 adult / $12.50 student (general admission)
NOTE - Performed in French with printed translations
WARNING - Sexual content; not suitable for young children