reading theatre

last evening I had the most delightful pleasure of being accompanied to the theatre. it was the opening night of Molière's Les Femmes savantes--or in English, The Learned Women or The Learned Ladies. Molière wrote it in 1672. the version our theatre & dance department is putting on this weekend was translated from the French by its director, Jonathan Marks, and I loved it very much. it was hilarious and thought-provoking, which always makes for wonderful entertainment (here, just in case, is a pre-review sort of article about it). I wish I had more time to sit and blog about all its themes--the dichotomy of body and mind, the merits of philosophy over well-cooked food, the roles of women at home or in love, and what kinds of love are most worthy.

but I do not have time to blog about any of that. nor about my pinterest research project, our book history videos, writing group, my current job or the totally different one I will have once summer has come and gone, or even about the tortuous but titillating countdown til the end of the semester I have running in one corner of my sleep-deprived brain. just eighteen days until this trip to Europe... just eighteen days...

as consolation for all this useless I-have-no-time-to-blog fluff, here is the script of this litle Molière play. no, it isn't the same translation, disappointingly. let us all hope that someday Mr. Marks publishes his. I would like that, even though reading a play can never match being there to see one performed. this one is a much older translation (1877) by Charles Wall, with interesting interspersed footnotes and comments. Mr. Wall, incidentally, also translated Molière's The Imaginary Invalid, which features a character by the name of Toinette. I've heard the name in an adaptation but never knew how it was spelled. how interesting. French pronunciation is so wacky.