"Le Journal d'une femme de chambre", a novel to play adaptation

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The 25th of April I went to the "Théâtre Darius Milhaud" to see the play "The Diary Of A Chambermaid" thanks to Lina (Big up!) The story dates back to the 1900s in a time of fear and hatred against the German Empire in France. The Dreyfus Affair is on the run (a young artillery officer of Jewish descent was indicted for treason without any true evidence for having communicated French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris.) 


My ticket :)
Celestine is the main character of the story. She is the chambermaid of a bourgeois couple the "Lanlaire", a name that sounds ridiculous in French as it looks like the words "en l'air" which means "in the air". The "Lanlaire" have a garden keeper Joseph who also works as a coachman for them. Joseph is a smart, manipulative and anti-semitic person. The latter set his cap on the new chambermaid Célestine who tries to resist him but eventually fall in love with the man. The play "A Diary of a Chambermaid" is based on the eponymous novel by Octave Mirbeau. Nita ALONSO the stage director decided the play to take the form of a monologue.


Ségolène Point playing Célestine
Celestine played by Ségolène Point is the witness of the absurdity of the social relation between her and her masters.  She is evolving in an enclosed environment which is an invisible poison for her as the relation between her and her masters got worse and worse. The "Lanlaire" makes her work very hard. She does not have any time left for herself and only wish to meet her best friend Mr Sleep. She underlines the absurdity of the bourgeois environment all along the play. When Celestine secretly ate a pear while the Lanlaire's were not there, the mistress noticed it and gave her a reprimand. Mrs Lanlaire always counts the number of fruits. 


Joseph is the only entertainment she has, he is in love with her and often makes advances to her. From the description of her condition Celestine gradually slides to the relation between herself and Joseph as the growing love in her takes the lead.
The play takes place in a small and intimate room. Ségolene Point is alone on the stage. She alternatively talks to us or indirectly when she writes behind her desk in her diary. The play is also interupted with some talks she is having with her masters and Joseph. Both of whom we can only hear the voice but never see.
Celestine finally ends up with Joseph who takes her with him to his new cafe he opened with the money he might have stolen to the Lanlaire. Ségolène Point did a brilliant job playing Célestine. She gives her character a true authenticity. If you have the chance to be in Paris you can go to the theatre "Darius Milhaud" as many plays and performances are always scheduled there!

Upcoming performances : Saturday 19 May 6:30 PM

Le Journal d’une femme de chambre by Octave Mirbeau.
Stage Director : Nita Alonso
Starring : Ségolène Point
Place : Théâtre Darius Milhaud
Adress : 80, allée Darius Milhaud, 75019 Paris

           www.theatredariusmilhaud.fr




More information about Ségolène Point : 



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