History
In January 1938 Cocteau wanted to concentrate on writing a new play and left Paris to stay in Montargis, accompanied by Jean Marais. A concentrated period of work led to the completion of the text by the end of February. Its title was then La Roulotte ou la maison dans la lune ("The caravan or the house on the moon"), referring to the negligent way of life of certain characters, and the unrealistic attitude of others. Cocteau intended the five roles for specific actors: Yvonne de Bray, Madeleine Ozeray, Gabrielle Dorziat, Louis Jouvet, and Jean Marais (and the first two of these lent their first names to the characters).
The play mingles elements of tragedy and farce. Cocteau said that he wanted to write in the manner of popular theatre ("une pièce de boulevard") - but also to make it a portrait of such theatre. He was seeking to engage with his audience while raising to the level of tragedy a theme that was almost out of "vaudeville".
Initially it was proposed that Jouvet should produce the play at his Théâtre de l'Athénée, but he then rejected the piece and withdrew from the project. It then took several months of searching for a theatre before Cocteau made an agreement with Roger Capgras and Alice Cocéa to present the play at the Théâtre des Ambassadeurs in Paris. Rehearsals were troubled and several changes of cast took place. Alice Cocéa took over the role of Madeleine and Marcel André took the part of Georges. Most significantly, Yvonne de Bray became ill and had to be replaced by Germaine Dermoz. (The published version of the play was still dedicated to Yvonne de Bray.)
The first performance took place on 14 November 1938. The initial reaction of the Parisian critics was predominantly enthusiastic. "A kind of triumph for the theatre, the author, and the actors" was one judgment. Only the right-wing press took a different view, deploring the play's apparently loose morality. Robert Brasillach wrote a particularly vehement attack on the play, referring to its putrefaction ("pourriture"), defilement ("profanation"), and filth ("ordure"): "the smell of dirty linen fills the whole play". Although numerous aspects of the play were cited to support these denunciations, it was the allegation that it portrayed an incestuous relationship between mother and son which caused the greatest controversy.
None of this deterred the public from attending in large numbers, but the play's initial run was brought to an abrupt halt when a proposal to hold a free performance for older children from local schools met with outraged objections. The theatre was controlled by the city authorities, and a decision to terminate the production was carried through amid fierce arguments. Within a few weeks however, the play was installed at another theatre, the Bouffes-Parisiens, where it ran for 300 performances.
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