Misplaced Pages

#802197

90-471: Anouilh was born in Cérisole, a small village on the outskirts of Bordeaux , France and had Basque ancestry. His father, François Anouilh, was a tailor, and Anouilh maintained that he inherited from him a pride in conscientious craftmanship. He may owe his artistic bent to his mother, Marie-Magdeleine, a violinist who supplemented the family's meager income by playing summer seasons in the casino orchestra in

180-467: A humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ). However, the Trewartha climate classification system classifies the city as solely humid subtropical, due to a recent rise in temperatures related – to some degree or another – to climate change and the city's urban heat island . The city enjoys cool to mild, wet winters, due to its relatively southerly latitude , and the prevalence of mild, westerly winds from

270-735: A 2015 online poll. The metropolis has also received awards and rankings by international organizations such as in 1957, Bordeaux was awarded the Europe Prize for its efforts in transmitting the European ideal. In June 2007, the Port of the Moon in historic Bordeaux was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List , for its outstanding architecture and urban ensemble and in recognition of Bordeaux's international importance over

360-460: A backdrop of simple compositions of line and color that created a unity of style and mood. The plays were not great successes, closing after 37 and 13 performances respectively, but Anouilh persevered, following it up with a string of productions, most notably Y'avait un prisonnier (1935). These works, most in collaboration with the experimental Russian director Georges Pitoëff , were considered promising despite their lack of commercial profits, and

450-571: A bourgeois misappropriation of the Revolution, they executed a great number of Girondists. During the purge, the local Montagnard Section renamed the city of Bordeaux "Commune-Franklin" (Franklin-municipality) in homage to Benjamin Franklin . At the same time, in 1791, a slave revolt broke out at Saint-Domingue (current Haiti ), the most profitable of the French colonies.In the lively era of

540-446: A century beyond the municipal borders of Bordeaux due to the small size of the commune (49 km (19 sq mi)) and urban sprawl . By January 2020 there were 1,376,375 people living in the overall 6,316 km (2,439 sq mi) metropolitan area ( aire d'attraction ) of Bordeaux, only a fifth of whom lived in the city proper. Le voyageur sans bagage Le Voyageur sans bagage (The Traveller Without Luggage)

630-451: A contemporary political parable." His post-war plays dealt with similar concerns and included Roméo et Jeannette , Médée ( Medea ), and Anouilh's Joan of Arc story L'Alouette ( The Lark ), which, in its distinct optimism, rivalled the commercial success of Antigone . Anouilh himself grouped his plays of this period on the basis of their dominant tone, publishing his later works in collected volumes to reflect what he felt "represented

720-399: A copywriter at the advertising agency Publicité Damour. He liked the work, and spoke more than once with wry approval of the lessons in the classical virtues of brevity and precision of language he learned while drafting advertising copy. Anouilh's financial troubles continued after he was called up to military service in 1929. Supported by only his meager conscription salary, Anouilh married

810-514: A cultural center for exhibitions. In 2007, 40% of the city surface area, located around the Port of the Moon , was listed as World Heritage Site . UNESCO inscribed Bordeaux as "an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris". Bordeaux

900-680: A darker tone of disillusionment. Another category Anouilh specifies are his pièces costumées ("costume plays") which include The Lark , La Foire d'Empoigne ( Catch as Catch Can ), and Becket , an international success, depicting the historical martyr Thomas Becket , the Archbishop of Canterbury who sought to defend the church against the monarch (and his friend), Henry II of England , who had appointed him to his see. So classified because they share historical "costumed" settings, Anouilh also specifies that these plays must also prominently feature an enlightened protagonist seeking "a moral path in

990-511: A museum as well as a place of exhibitions, shows, movie projections and academic seminars on the theme of wine opened its doors in June 2016. The Laser Mégajoule will be one of the most powerful lasers in the world, allowing fundamental research and the development of the laser and plasma technologies. Some 15,000 people work for the aeronautic industry in Bordeaux. The city has some of

SECTION 10

#1732771797803

1080-666: A population of 259,809 in 2020 within its small municipal territory of 49 km (19 sq mi), but together with its suburbs and exurbs the Bordeaux metropolitan area had a population of 1,376,375 that same year (Jan. 2020 census), the sixth-most populated in France after Paris , Lyon , Marseille , Lille , and Toulouse . Bordeaux and 27 suburban municipalities form the Bordeaux Metropolis , an indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues. The Bordeaux Metropolis, with

1170-529: A population of 819,604 at the January 2020 census, is the fifth most populated metropolitan council in France after those of Paris , Marseille , Lyon and Lille . Bordeaux is a world capital of wine: many châteaux and vineyards stand on the hillsides of the Gironde , and the city is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo . Bordeaux is also one of the centers of gastronomy and business tourism for

1260-481: A sordid and corrupt world." Many of these plays present the reader with the striking and inescapable dichotomy between pragmatism and a sort of transcendent idealism. There is little to no "middle ground of ambiguity" that exists where this conflict asserts itself. This is evidenced in Le Voyageur Sans Bagage. The main character Gaston, a World War I veteran who suffers from amnesia, cannot remember

1350-420: A wine glut ( wine lake ) in the generic production, the price squeeze induced by an increasingly strong international competition, and vine pull schemes , the number of growers has recently dropped from 14,000 and the area under vine has also decreased significantly. In the meantime, the global demand for first growths and the most famous labels markedly increased and their prices skyrocketed. The Cité du Vin ,

1440-494: A world of corruption and manipulation." Anouilh's final period begins with La Grotte ( The Cavern ), in which he comments on his own progress as a writer and a theatre artist. The central character is a playwright suffering from writer's block who in his frustration recalls the foibles of Luigi Pirandello 's Six Characters in Search of an Author . Anouilh's work had always contained hints of metatheatricality , or commentary on

1530-554: A young English boy and shows him his identifying scar; this gesture allows the boy to describe Gaston to the authorities, thereby claiming him as kin. With a new life and a new family, Gaston has a fresh start. David I. Grossvogel, describes this situation as the "restoration of a childhood paradise lost," attributing Le Voyageur Sans Bagage as the beginning of Anouilh's search to justify the unhappiness of his youth. Theatre historian Marvin Carlson agrees, noting that this play epitomizes

1620-407: Is a 1937 play in five scenes by Jean Anouilh . Incidental music for the original production was written by Darius Milhaud and for the play's first Paris revivals by Francis Poulenc . Gaston, a veteran of World War I , suffers from amnesia and has spent the last 18 years in a hospital trying to regain his memories. Although he's claimed as a son by various families, a rich Duchess believes

1710-527: Is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department , southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called " Bordelais " (masculine) or " Bordelaises " (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region. The city of Bordeaux proper had

1800-686: Is a major centre for business in France as it has the sixth largest metropolitan population in France. It serves as a major regional center for trade, administration, services and industry. The vine was introduced to the Bordeaux region by the Romans, probably in the mid-first century, to provide wine for local consumption, and wine production has been continuous in the region since. Bordeaux wine growing area has about 116,160 hectares (287,000 acres) of vineyards , 57 appellations , 10,000 wine-producing estates (châteaux) and 13,000 grape growers. With an annual production of approximately 960 million bottles,

1890-458: Is a tourism company operating in the Bordeaux wine region. Access to the port from the Atlantic is via the Gironde estuary . Almost nine million tonnes of goods arrive and leave each year. This list includes indigenous Bordeaux-based companies and companies that have major presence in Bordeaux, but are not necessarily headquartered there. In January 2020, there were 259,809 inhabitants in

SECTION 20

#1732771797803

1980-515: Is called claret in the United Kingdom. Red wines are generally made from a blend of grapes, and may be made from Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot , Cabernet Franc , Petit verdot , Malbec , and, less commonly in recent years, Carménère . White Bordeaux is made from Sauvignon blanc , Sémillon , and Muscadelle . Sauternes is a sub-region of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white, dessert wines such as Château d'Yquem . Because of

2070-524: Is located close to the European Atlantic coast, in the southwest of France and in the north of the Aquitaine region. It is around 500 km (310 mi) southwest of Paris. The city is built on a bend of the river Garonne , and is divided into two parts: the right bank to the east and left bank in the west. Historically the left bank is more developed because when flowing outside the bend,

2160-430: Is the only one that is not gloomy, in which we laugh like men at war with our misery and our horror. This humor is one of France's messages to the world." Disclosing his thoughts on French theatre and his personal perspective as a playwright, he said that the perception of his work was often misguided: I am played in private theaters, so I write for the bourgeoisie. One has to rely on the people who pay for their places;

2250-1152: The Duke of York's Theatre , London on three consecutive Sundays in December 1937. As The Traveller Without Luggage , the play was next presented in the UK at the Bristol Old Vic on 3 September 1951, in a translation by Lewis Galantière . Subsequent translators of the play included the playwright John Whiting and actress Lucienne Hill . Paris – premiere – Théâtre des Mathurins , 16 February 1937 Directed by Georges Pitoëff Bristol – UK postwar premiere, as The Traveller Without Luggage – Bristol Old Vic , 3 September 1951 Directed by Denis Carey Translated by Lewis Galantière London – as Traveller Without Luggage – Arts Theatre , 29 January 1959 Directed by Peter Hall Translated by John Whiting New York – premiere, as Traveller Without Luggage – ANTA Playhouse , 17 September 1964 Directed by Robert Lewis Translated by Lucienne Hill Le Voyageur sans bagage

2340-604: The House of Poitiers ) brought continuity of government. From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux flourished once more following the marriage of Eléonore , Duchess of Aquitaine and the last of the House of Poitiers , to Henry II Plantagenêt , Count of Anjou and the grandson of Henry I of England , who succeeded to the English crown months after their wedding, bringing into being the vast Angevin Empire , which stretched from

2430-454: The Pyrenees to Ireland. After granting a tax-free trade status with England, Henry was adored by the locals as they could be even more profitable in the wine trade, their main source of income, and the city benefited from imports of cloth and wheat. The belfry (Grosse Cloche) and city cathedral St-André were built, the latter in 1227, incorporating the artisan quarter of Saint-Paul. Under

2520-650: The Théâtre Montparnasse on 6 April 1950 (directed by André Barsacq , with the Poulenc score again and Michel Vitold as Gaston) and back at the play's original home, the Théâtre des Mathurins , on 15 September 1973, directed by Nicole Anouilh (the playwright's wife), with Daniel Ivernel and, later, Pierre Vaneck as Gaston. For this revival the Milhaud music was restored and Anouilh made some changes to

2610-432: The Théâtre de l'Atelier after Charles Dullin 's retirement in 1940. Barsacq was a champion for Anouilh and their affiliation was a major factor in the playwright's continued success after the war. In the 1940s, Anouilh turned from contemporary tales to more mythical, classic, and historic subjects. With protagonists who asserted their independence from the fated past, themes during this period are more closely related to

2700-550: The Tigurini led by Divico . The Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus , was killed in battle. The city came under Roman rule around 60 BC, and it became an important commercial centre for tin and lead . During this period were built the amphitheatre and the monument Les Piliers de Tutelle . In 276 AD, it was sacked by the Vandals . The Vandals attacked again in 409, followed by

2790-674: The Visigoths in 414, and the Franks in 498, and afterwards the city fell into a period of relative obscurity. In the late 6th century AD the city re-emerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks , but royal Frankish power was never strong. The city started to play a regional role as a major urban center on the fringes of the newly founded Frankish Duchy of Vasconia . Around 585 Gallactorius

Jean Anouilh - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-451: The "complex tonality and deft dramatic technique" that remained throughout his work, though, he asserts, it was only as the playwright matured that his "dark view of the human condition [reached] its final expression." Anouilh disagreed with these somber readings of his best works, however, arguing that, like all great French literature, his plays had found ways to laugh at misfortune. "Thanks to Molière," Anouilh said, "the true French theatre

2970-471: The 18th century, Bordeaux emerged as a center of economic activity, particularly known at first for its successful wine trade. The city's placement along the Gironde River was very strategic, helping to facilitate the transportation of produce to markets both internationally and domestically, which led to an increase in exports and Bordeaux's economic prosperity. There was a significant transformation to

3060-523: The 1950s, Anouilh examined his antagonism with General de Gaulle in L'Hurluberlu, ou Le Reactionnaire amoureux (1958) and Le Songe du critique (1960). He began to lose the favor of audiences and critics alike, however, with the emergence of such playwrights as Eugène Ionesco and Samuel Beckett . Though he shared with these authors a "similar desperate vision of human existence," these new absurdist theatres' pursuit of alternative dramaturgies made Anouilh's semi-realistic plays seem dull and old-fashioned. In

3150-542: The 1980s Anouilh reinvented himself as a director, staging his own plays as well as those of other authors. He died of a heart attack in Lausanne, Switzerland on 3 October 1987. By then divorced from Monelle Valentin, he was survived by his second wife, Nicole Lançon, and four children. Bordeaux Bordeaux ( / b ɔːr ˈ d oʊ / bor- DOH ; French: [bɔʁdo] ; Gascon Occitan : Bordèu [buɾˈðɛw] ; Basque : Bordele )

3240-452: The Atlantic. Its summers are warm and somewhat drier, although wet enough to avoid a Mediterranean classification. Frosts occur annually, but snowfall is quite infrequent, occurring for no more than 3–4 days a year. The summer of 2003 set a record with an average temperature of 23.3 °C (73.9 °F), while February 1956 was the coldest month on record with an average temperature of −2.00 °C at Bordeaux Mérignac-Airport. Bordeaux

3330-511: The Bordeaux area produces large quantities of everyday wine as well as some of the most expensive wines in the world. Included among the latter are the area's five premier cru ( First Growth ) red wines (four from Médoc and one, Château Haut-Brion , from Graves ), established by the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 : Both red and white wines are made in the Bordeaux region. Red Bordeaux wine

3420-510: The Family ) and Léocadia ( Time Remembered ), the focus is on "the burden of the environment and especially of the past on a protagonist seeking a happier, freer existence." Most of Anouilh's plays of the late 1940s and into the 1950s become darker and distinctly cruel and, in contrast with his earlier works, begin to feature middle-aged characters who must view life more practically than Anouilh's former idealistic youths. The playwright divided

3510-645: The French Army in 1931 and 1939. He was a prisoner of war for a short time when the Germans conquered France and willingly lived and worked in Paris during the subsequent German occupation . Because he refused to take sides during France's collaboration with the Axis Alliance , some critics have branded him as a potential Nazi sympathiser. This controversy escalated as a result of Anouilh's public clashes with

3600-509: The French poet Saint-John Perse had taken the Nobel in 1960, meaning that France was well represented on the roster of winners, and Svenska Dagbladet reveals that Jean-Paul Sartre , who won the prize in 1964, was starting to be seriously considered as a candidate." In 1980, Anouilh was the first recipient of the Grand Prix du Théâtre de l'Académie française established that year. By

3690-412: The Moon supplied the majority of Europe with coffee, cocoa, sugar, cotton and indigo, becoming France's busiest port and the second busiest port in the world after London. Many downtown buildings (about 5,000), including those on the quays, are from this period. Bordeaux was also a major trading centre for slaves. In total, the Bordeaux shipowners deported 150,000 Africans in some 500 expeditions. At

Jean Anouilh - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-867: The Portuguese consul-general, Aristides de Sousa Mendes , who illegally granted thousands of Portuguese visas, which were needed to pass the Spanish border, to refugees fleeing the German occupation. From 1941 to 1943, the Italian Royal Navy established BETASOM , a submarine base at Bordeaux. Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic from that base, which was also a major base for German U-boats as headquarters of 12th U-boat Flotilla . The massive, reinforced concrete U-boat pens have proved impractical to demolish and are now partly used as

3870-520: The Renaud estate, searching for their lost loved one from the war. Gaston spots a young boy. This boy, who is the only surviving member of the Madensales, a family who died in a boating accident when he was an infant, is searching for his long-lost nephew who happens to be much older than himself. Gaston tells the young boy about the scar on his shoulder and fabricates a story about the scar belonging to

3960-435: The actress Monelle Valentin in 1931. Though Valentin starred in many of his plays, Anouilh's daughter Caroline (from his second marriage), claims that the marriage was not a happy one. Anouilh's youngest daughter Colombe even claims that there was never an official marriage between Anouilh and Valentin. She allegedly had multiple extramarital affairs, which caused Anouilh much pain and suffering. The infidelity weighed heavily on

4050-477: The beginning of the Franco-Prussian war against Prussia , the French government temporarily relocated to Bordeaux from Paris. That recurred during World War I and again very briefly during World War II , when it became clear that Paris would fall into German hands. During World War II, Bordeaux fell under German occupation . In May and June 1940, Bordeaux was the site of the life-saving actions of

4140-598: The beginning of the French Revolution (1789), many local revolutionaries were members of the Girondists . This Party represented the provincial bourgeoisie, favorable towards abolishing aristocracy privileges, but opposed to the Revolution's social dimension. The Gironde valley's economic value and significance was satiated by the city's commercial power which was in dire contrast to the emerging widespread poverty affecting its inhabitants. Trade and commerce were

4230-630: The biggest companies including Dassault , EADS Sogerma , Snecma , Thales , SNPE, and others. The Dassault Falcon private jets are built there as well as the military aircraft Rafale and Mirage 2000 , the Airbus A380 cockpit , the boosters of Ariane 5 , and the M51 SLBM missile . Tourism, especially wine tourism , is a major industry. Globelink.co.uk mentioned Bordeaux as the best tourist destination in Europe in 2015. Gourmet Touring

4320-550: The boy's long-lost nephew. Gaston leaves the Renauds to become a member of the boy's family, later writing a letter to Jacques' brother Georges, stating that their Jacques is dead and they need not search for him any longer. Inspired by the story of an amnesiac soldier, Anthelme Mangin , who was claimed by over a dozen families, the play was first presented on 16 February 1937 and was Anouilh's first major hit with critics and audiences alike. According to biographer Edward Owen Marsh,

4410-452: The business of theatre within the world of the play, but in his late works these structures became more fully developed as he begins to write primarily about characters who are dramatists or theatre directors. There is also a pronounced link, during this time, of Anouilh's emphasis of theatre and the family, displaying intimate relationships that are "more profound and more important than the traditional heightened action of 'theatre ' ". Antoine,

4500-560: The capital city (along with Bourges in the north). During the last stage of the war against Aquitaine (760–768), it was one of Waifer's last important strongholds to fall to the troops of King Pepin the Short . Charlemagne built the fortress of Fronsac ( Frontiacus , Franciacus ) near Bordeaux on a hill across the border with the Basques ( Wascones ), where Basque commanders came and pledged their loyalty (769). In 778, Seguin (or Sihimin)

4590-513: The cinema to supplement their income. At the age of 25, Anouilh found work as a secretary to the French actor and director Louis Jouvet at the Comédie des Champs-Elysées. Though Anouilh's boss had happily lent him some of the set furniture left over from the production of Jean Giraudoux 's play Siegfried to furnish his modest home, the director was not interested in encouraging his assistant's attempts at playwriting. Jouvet had risen to fame in

SECTION 50

#1732771797803

4680-423: The city proper (commune) of Bordeaux. The commune (including Caudéran which was annexed by Bordeaux in 1965) had its largest population of 284,494 at the 1954 census. The majority of the population is French, but there are sizable groups of Italians, Spaniards (Up to 20% of the Bordeaux population claim some degree of Spanish heritage), Portuguese , Turks , Germans . The built-up area has grown for more than

4770-494: The details of it." Anouilh's plays provide the most important clues about his political point of view, though their reputation for ambiguity further complicates the matter. For instance, Antigone provides an allegorical representation of the debate between the idealistic members of the French Resistance and the pragmatism of the collaborationists. Though many have read the play as having a strong anti-Nazi sentiment,

4860-557: The dramatist as a result of the uncertainty about his own parentage. According to Caroline, Anouilh had learned that his mother had had a lover at the theatre in Arcachon who was actually his biological father. In spite of this, Anouilh and Valentin had a daughter, Catherine, in 1934 who followed the pair into theatre work at an early age. Anouilh's growing family placed further strain on his already limited finances. Determined to break into writing full-time, he began to write comic scenes for

4950-487: The driving factors in the region's economic prosperity, still this resulted in a significant number of locals struggling to survive on a daily basis due to lack of food and resources. This socioeconomic disparity served as fertile ground for discontent, sparking frequent episodes of mass unrest well before the tumultuous events of 1783. [1] In 1793, the Montagnards led by Robespierre and Marat came to power. Fearing

5040-475: The duo continued to work together until they had their first major success in 1937 with Le voyageur sans bagage ( Traveller Without Luggage ). In subsequent years, there was rarely a season in Paris that did not prominently feature a new Anouilh play and many of these were also being exported to England and America. After 1938, however, much of Anouilh's later work was directed by the prominent Paris scenic designer André Barsacq , who had taken over as director of

5130-405: The early 1930s through his collaborations with the playwright Giraudoux, and together the two worked to shift focus from the authorial voice of the director (which had dominated the French stage since the early twentieth century) back to the playwright and his text. Giraudoux was an inspiration to Anouilh and, with the encouragement of the acclaimed playwright, he began writing again in 1929. Before

5220-493: The economic landscape of Bordeaux in 1785, which was spurred by the attraction of large profits, traders and merchants in Bordeaux began to turn their attention to the slave trade. This was a very important moment in the city's economic history seeing as it diversified its commercial expansion, at a serious moral cost. This introduced a new layer of difficulty to Bordeaux's economic activities. Even though it brought along significant wealth to certain segments of society, it complicated

5310-527: The end of his career, Anouilh's reputation outstripped those of some of his contemporaries despite his repertoire remaining mostly confined to theatre and film. Most French dramatists of the 1930s and 1940s, including Anouilh's most significant contemporary influence, Giraudoux, not only wrote for the stage but also composed poetry, novels, or essays. Nevertheless, he remained prolific, consistently producing and publishing performance works for more than fifty years. Anouilh's early works were "naturalistic studies of

5400-457: The end of the year he made his theatrical debut with Humulus le muet , a collaborative project with Jean Aurenche . It was followed by his first solo projects, L'Hermine ( The Ermine ) in 1932 and Mandarine in 1933, both produced by Aurélien Lugné-Poe , an innovative actor and stage manager who was then head of the Théâtre de l'Œuvre . Ruled by the philosophy, "the word creates the decor," Lugné-Poe let Anouilh's lyrical prose shine in front of

5490-407: The existential concerns of such writers as Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus . The most famous play of this group is Antigone , which "established Anouilh as a leading dramatist, not only because of the power with which he drew the classic confrontation between the uncompromising Antigone and the politically expedient Creon, but also because French theatre-goers under the occupation read the play as

SECTION 60

#1732771797803

5580-566: The fact that the Vichy Regime allowed the piece to be performed without censure testifies to the fact that it was potentially seen as supportive of the occupation in its time. Though the playwright romanticizes Antigone's sense of honor and duty to what is morally right, in this case resisting the Nazi forces, it can also be said that Anouilh, like Sophocles before him, makes a convincing argument for Creon's method of leadership. In 1970 his work

5670-581: The family moved to Paris where the young Anouilh received his secondary education at the Lycée Chaptal . Jean-Louis Barrault , later a major French director, was a pupil there at the same time and recalls Anouilh as an intense, rather dandified figure who hardly noticed a boy some two years younger than himself. He earned acceptance into the law school at the Sorbonne but, unable to support himself financially, he left after just 18 months to seek work as

5760-500: The first bridge of Bordeaux, and customs warehouses. The shipping traffic grew through the new African colonies . Georges-Eugène Haussmann , a longtime prefect of Bordeaux, used Bordeaux's 18th-century large-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor Napoleon III to transform the quasi-medieval Paris into a "modern" capital that would make France proud. Victor Hugo found the town so beautiful he said: "Take Versailles , add Antwerp , and you have Bordeaux". In 1870, at

5850-608: The last 2000 years. Bordeaux is also ranked as a Sufficiency city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . Around 300 BC, the region was the settlement of a Celtic tribe , the Bituriges Vivisci , who named the town Burdigala , probably of Aquitanian origin. In 107 BC, the Battle of Burdigala was fought by the Romans who were defending the Allobroges , a Gallic tribe allied to Rome, and

5940-597: The leader of the Free French Forces (and later president of the Fifth Republic ), General Charles de Gaulle . In the mid-1940s, Anouilh and several other intellectuals signed a petition for clemency to save the writer Robert Brasillach , who was condemned to death for being a Nazi collaborator. Brasillach was executed by firing squad in February 1945, despite the outcry from Anouilh and his peers that

6030-451: The maid Juliette, with whom Jacques had been intimate. Gaston has difficulty reconciling his current personality with that of his past. His brother's wife, Valentine (with whom he had an affair during adolescence), tells him about a tiny scar on his shoulder, sustained when Valentine attacked him with a hat pin in a fit of jealousy. Gaston sees this scar in a mirror but doesn't tell Valentine about it. Soon thereafter, numerous families arrive at

6120-569: The manumission law but lost the war against the army of former slaves. In 1804, Haiti became independent. The loss of this "Pearl" of the West Indies generated the collapse of Bordeaux's port economy, which was dependent on the colonial trade and trade in slaves. Towards the end of the Peninsular War of 1814, the Duke of Wellington sent William Beresford with two divisions and seized Bordeaux, encountering little resistance. Bordeaux

6210-433: The moral depravity of his youth (he slept with his brother's wife and severely injured his best friend). This checkered past is invariably at odds with the near-angelic behavior that he now exhibits, and recognition of this truth forces him to leave his former identity behind, unable to reconcile the two sides of himself. In denouncing his past, Gaston reclasses his freedom as an illusion, but one of his own making. He befriends

6300-758: The mouth of the Garonne from the Vikings when they appeared in c. 844. In Autumn 845, the Vikings were raiding Bordeaux and Saintes, count Seguin II marched on them but was captured and executed. Although the port of Bordeaux was a buzzing trade center, the stability and success of the city was threatened by Viking and Norman incursions and political instability. The restoration of the Ramnulfid Dukes of Aquitaine under William IV and his successors (known as

6390-463: The nearby seaside resort of Arcachon . Marie-Magdeleine worked the night shifts in the music-hall orchestras and sometimes accompanied stage presentations, affording Anouilh ample opportunity to absorb the dramatic performances from backstage. He often attended rehearsals and solicited the resident authors to let him read scripts until bedtime. He first tried his hand at playwriting here, at the age of 12, though his earliest works do not survive. In 1918

6480-473: The new government had no right to persecute individuals for "intellectual crimes" in the absence of military or political action. Nevertheless, Anouilh refused to comment on his political views, writing in a letter to the Belgian critic Hubert Gignoux in 1946, "I do not have a biography and I am very happy about it. The rest of my life, as long as God wills it, will remain my personal business, and I will withhold

6570-420: The organization of international congresses. It is a central and strategic hub for the aeronautics, military and space sector, home to major companies such as Dassault Aviation , ArianeGroup , Safran and Thales . The link with aviation dates back to 1910, the year the first airplane flew over the city. A crossroads of knowledge through university research, it is home to one of the only two megajoule lasers in

6660-405: The people who support the theater are bourgeois. But this public has changed: They have such a terror of not being in touch, of missing out on a fashionable event that they no longer exist as a decisive force. I think the public has lost its head. They now say that a play can't be that good if they can understand it. My plays are not hermetic enough. It's rather Molièresque, don't you think? In

6750-648: The phases of his evolution and loosely resembled the distinction between comedy and tragedy." Pièces noires or "Black plays" were tragedies or realistic dramas and included Antigone , Jézabel , and La Sauvage ( The Restless Heart ). This category typically featured "young, idealistic, and uncompromising protagonists [who] are able to maintain their integrity only by choosing death." By contrast, Anouilh's pièces roses or "pink plays" were comedies where fantasy dominated with an atmosphere similar to that of fairy tales. In these plays such as Le Bal des voleurs ( Carnival of Thieves ), Le Rendez-vous de Senlis ( Dinner with

6840-464: The playwright enjoyed "his first financial success in the theatre, when perhaps the poorest theatre-director in Paris, Georges Pitoëff , produced what is generally considered to be one of Anouilh's finest plays, Le Voyageur sans bagage . This production put the seal on his reputation and marked him as one of the most interesting younger dramatists." The play first appeared in English as Identity Unknown in an adaptation by Alice Wagstaffe, presented at

6930-462: The playwright-protagonist of Cher Antoine; ou, L'Amour raté ( Dear Antoine; or, The Love That Failed ), asserts that the world must take notice of these pièces secrètes (secret dramas) and Anouilh scholars have proposed this name, pièces secrètes , to classify the collected works of his latest period." Anouilh remained staunchly apolitical for most of his life and career. He served in the military during at least two periods, having been drafted into

7020-583: The socio-economic inconsistencies within the region. The entry into the slave trade brought even more tension within Bordeaux society. The trade exacerbated the divide between an elite with growing wealth and those living in poverty. This economic divide laid out the foundation for the mass unrest that would break out in the French Revolution. [2] Three years later, the Montagnard Convention abolished slavery. In 1802, Napoleon revoked

7110-692: The terms of the Treaty of Brétigny it became briefly the capital of an independent state (1362–1372) under Edward, the Black Prince , but after the Battle of Castillon (1453) it was annexed by France. In 1462, Bordeaux created a local parliament. Bordeaux adhered to the Fronde , being effectively annexed to the Kingdom of France only in 1653, when the army of Louis XIV entered the city. The 18th century saw another golden age of Bordeaux. The Port of

7200-698: The text, claiming that some of the original expressions were "franchement démodés" (frankly outmoded). In addition to the 1944 film version, the play has been adapted several times for television - in the UK (October 1959, February 1965), Australia (August 1961), Canada (January 1962), Spain (February 1964, February 1968), and France (September 2004, directed by Pierre Boutron ). The play has also been adapted for BBC Radio, first in March 1953 and subsequently in June 1980. A new stage adaptation by Anthony Weigh, transposed to 1950s America and titled Welcome Home, Captain Fox! ,

7290-412: The true family Gaston belongs to is the Renauds. Gaston travels to the Renauds' estate alongside his lawyer, Huspar. A docile character, Gaston discovers his former identity of Jacques Renaud: a cruel and violent young man who used to kill animals for sport. He learns that immediately prior to the war he pushed his best friend, Marcel, down a flight of stairs, breaking his back, shortly after seeing him kiss

7380-536: The water makes a furrow of the required depth to allow the passing of merchant ships, which used to offload on this side of the river. But, today, the right bank is developing, including new urban projects. In Bordeaux, the Garonne River is accessible to ocean liners through the Gironde estuary . The right bank of the Garonne is a low-lying, often marshy plain. Bordeaux's climate can be classified as oceanic ( Köppen climate classification Cfb ), bordering on

7470-567: The works of this period into pièces brillantes ("brilliant plays") and pièces grinçantes ("grating plays"). The first group includes works such as L'Invitation au château (Ring Round the Moon) and Colombe , and are typified by aristocratic settings and witty banter. The grating plays like La Valse des toréadors ( Waltz of the Toreadors ) and Le Réactionnaire amoureux ( The Fighting Cock ) are more bitterly funny, trading clever word play for

7560-481: The world, as well as a university population of more than 130,000 students within the Bordeaux Metropolis. Bordeaux is an international tourist destination for its architectural and cultural heritage with more than 362 historic monuments , making it, after Paris, the city with the most listed or registered monuments in France. The "Pearl of Aquitaine" has been voted European Destination of the year in

7650-592: Was appointed count of Bordeaux, probably undermining the power of the Duke Lupo , and possibly leading to the Battle of Roncevaux Pass . In 814, Seguin was made Duke of Vasconia , but was deposed in 816 for failing to suppress a Basque rebellion. Under the Carolingians , sometimes the Counts of Bordeaux held the title concomitantly with that of Duke of Vasconia . They were to keep the Basques in check and defend

7740-838: Was defeated he had enough troops to engage in the Battle of Poitiers and so retain his grip on Aquitaine. In 737, following his father Eudes's death, the Aquitanian duke Hunald led a rebellion to which Charles responded by launching an expedition that captured Bordeaux. However, it was not retained for long, during the following year the Frankish commander clashed in battle with the Aquitanians but then left to take on hostile Burgundian authorities and magnates. In 745 Aquitaine faced another expedition where Charles's sons Pepin and Carloman challenged Hunald's power and defeated him. Hunald's son Waifer replaced him and confirmed Bordeaux as

7830-499: Was given its first Paris revival at the Théâtre de la Michodière on 1 April 1944, with Pierre Fresnay playing Gaston. As director, Fresnay modelled the production on the original by the since-deceased Pitoëff, but Francis Poulenc was engaged to replace the original's incidental music, which had been composed by Darius Milhaud . This revival opened shortly after the premiere of a film version , also starring Fresnay and directed by Anouilh himself. Further Paris revivals followed at

7920-537: Was largely anti- Bonapartist and the majority supported the Bourbons . The British troops were treated as liberators. Distinguished historian of the French revolution Suzanne Desan explains that "examining intricate local dynamics" is essential to studying the Revolution by region. [3] From the Bourbon Restoration , the economy of Bordeaux was rebuilt by traders and shipowners. They engaged to construct

8010-632: Was made Count of Bordeaux and fought the Basques . In 732, the city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman who stormed the fortifications and overwhelmed the Aquitanian garrison. Duke Eudes mustered a force to engage the Umayyads , eventually engaging them in the Battle of the River Garonne somewhere near the river Dordogne . The battle had a high death toll, and although Eudes

8100-644: Was recognized with the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca . In 2012, the Nobel Records were opened after 50 years and it was revealed that Anouilh was among a shortlist of authors considered for the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature , along with John Steinbeck (winner), Robert Graves , Lawrence Durrell and Karen Blixen . According to a report in The Guardian , "It is not clear why Anouilh was passed over, but

#802197