-
A Noise Within
Jean Genet based The Maids on a real murder case from 1933
Christine and Léa Papin were real-life sisters who came from an abusive, dysfunctional, poor family. As adults, the two were extremely close and may have had an incestuous relationship. They worked as maids for the Lancelin family for many years, but one night in February 1933, they brutally murdered their employer, Madame Lancelin, and her daughter, Genvieve, in their home….
-
-
A Noise Within
Quackery and Medicine in 17th Century France
The Imaginary Invalid references many questionable antiquated medical practices. Learn more about the real-life history of “medicine” in 17th Century France: “We are doctors come to warn you Of the phonies out to harm you Could your guru be a schmuck? If it quacks, then it’s a duck! Your guru scoffs at your queries, And…
-
-
A Noise Within
The Imaginary Invalid: Notes on Names
Enrich your experience of The Imaginary Invalid and discover the fascinating explanations behind the show’s meaningful character names: Argan’s name sounds a little like “argent,” which [in French] means “money.” It also sounds a bit like “Orgon,” a character from another of Molière’s plays whose faith in the titular character, Tartuffe, is comparable to Argan’s faith in doctors. Béline’s name is loosely…
-
-
A Noise Within
Arcadia‘s Playwright: Tom Stoppard
“It is a mistake to assume that plays are the end products of ideas (which would be limiting): the ideas are the end products of the plays.” TOM STOPPARD was born Tomáš Straüssler in Zlin, Czechoslovakia, in 1937. In 1939 his family immigrated to Singapore, which Tom evacuated with his mother and brother in 1942 before the World War II Japanese…
-
history
