Last half, a group of French students in Years 12 and 13 performed an extract from Georges Feydeau’s farce Un fil à la patte in the Empty Space.
The extract depicts an engagement party at which Lucette discovers that her lover, Bois d’Enghien, is engaged to be married to another woman, Vivianne. Upon hearing this news, Lucette promptly faints, causing the other guests to leave her alone with Bois d’Enghien.
Lucette is soon roused and begins to argue voraciously with Bois d’Enghien. Lucette’s loud and overt protestations of love compel the other guests to burst into the room, where they shockingly discover Bois d’Enghien embracing his mistress. The scene ends as Le Général, a Spanish officer hopelessly in love with Lucette, chases after Bois d’Enghien.
The scene is littered with comedic figures, notably the aforementioned Général, who speaks heavily accented (and largely incomprehensible) French, La Baronne, the wholly over-the-top mother of Vivianne and Bouzin, a rather hapless clerk.
Credit must go not only to the cast, who performed the extract entirely in French, but also the French assistants and AP who oversaw the production. Bravo!
