Le Suicidé: La Comédie-Française's wacky comedy - our review

Le Suicidé is on at La Comédie-Française, in the Salle Richelieu, from October 11 to February 2, 2025. Although its name may not sound very cheerful, the play is a burlesque and committed new production. It's a comedy for a good laugh, but also for philosophical reflection on social and philosophical issues.

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Le Suicidé tells the story of Semione, a lazy, disillusioned unemployed man who depends entirely on his wife and mother-in-law, living in a collective apartment in the Soviet Union. One night, after an argument caused by a sudden craving for sausage, he goes into the kitchen for a snack. But his wife, fearing that he might attempt suicide, calls a neighbor for help.

In the darkness, he mistakes the sausage for a pistol. Rumors of his imminent suicide soon spread, reaching the ears of various representatives of society. Seeing in this potential martyr a chance to get their demands across, as "only the dead can express out loud what the living are thinking", they cynically seek to convince Semione to sacrifice himself for their causes.

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This new comic production, which has entered the Comédie-Française repertoire, combines boulevard mechanisms with philosophical tirades denouncing societal problems. The ridiculous situation of Le Suicidé lends a burlesque edge to Nicolaï Erdman 's play , directed by Stéphane Varupenne.

For Stéphane Varupenne, this will be his first solo staging after co-directing Les Serge (Gainsbourg point barre) and Les Précieuses ridicules with Sébastien Pouderoux. Le Suicidé is set in 1928, 11 years after the Russian Revolution, and Stéphane Varupenne aims to inspire Comédie-Française audiences with "yellow laughter, nervous laughter, polite laughter and a bulwark against despair.

Our review:

A magnificently madcap comedy! Plunged into bleak Soviet Russia, the spectator discovers an absurd story written by the Russian Nicolaï Erdman, then censored in 1932 by Stalin. Directed by Stéphane Varupenne, this new creation, which has just been added to the Répertoire de la Comedie-Francaise, is a success, as much for the quality of the cast's acting as for its unbridled staging.

Don't expect to see a sad play! Although the theme is not a happy one, the vaudeville-like play is full of wacky situations, while denouncing the totalitarian excesses of the Revolution. Far from being a philosophical analysis of suicide, the play rather denounces the egoism, individualism and self-centeredness of individuals in a dark period, which Nicolai Erdman has not hesitated to ridicule.

The cast of the Comédie-Francaise excel, particularly Jérémy Lopez in the lead role, in well-thought-out sets. The staging of Le Suicidé is well thought-out and original (especially in the second half of the play), adding a vaudeville air to the text. If the spectator receives a great deal of information in 2 hours 15 minutes, both visually and textually, Stéphane Varupenne 's condensed version is a success!