The amateur dramatic group Sheffield University Drama Society (SUDS) returns to the stage with a laugh-out-loud French comedy in a dazzling translation.
Victor Follavoine, a harassed family man, owns a factory making a special brand of shatter-proof porcelain. He is hoping to secure a massive government contract to supply the military with his unbreakable chamber-pots. He has arranged a visit and a demonstration for a high-ranking official from the War Ministry. His wife Julie, on the other hand, is more concerned about their infant son’s constipation, and this makes for several farcical turns of events, as well as some strikingly contemporary themes.
Second only to Molière as France’s finest comic dramatist, Georges Feydeau creates irresistible laughter out of frenetic and side-splitting confusion, sustained by sharp dialogue and painfully funny situations. He shows how the lives of ordinary people can easily turn into the stuff of hilarious farce.
The play stars Julia Bisby, the first-prize winner of the recent Sheffield Monologue Showcase, in the lead role.