Performance History
Le Malentendu was staged for the first time at the Théâtre de Mathurins in Paris on 24 August 1944, directed by Marcel Herrand, who also played the part of Jan and with Maria Casarès as Martha. The performance coincided with the Liberation of Paris. The play had two short runs, neither particularly successful. It was the first of Camus' plays to be performed, although Caligula had been written 2 years earlier.
“The French public were ill-prepared in 1945 to appreciate such multi-faceted allegories and such philosophical implications in the absence of rational cogency and psychological realism. In a word, the play was felt to be lacking in logic. Its tragic tone, its refinement, its poetic presentation were no compensation to the audience which insisted – particularly in those days – on clarity of statement and precision of thought”.
Cross Purpose was performed at the King’s Head Theatre, London, in 2012 directed by Stephen Witson, with Jamie Birkett as Martha and David Lomax as Jan.
Read more about this topic: The Misunderstanding
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