Le Mariage

Marriage is a topic of conversation this month (see parisvoice.com posting of “Dämnone”) but Lilo Baur looks at its more farcical expressions à la Gogol in “Le Mariage”. A civil servant concerned with appearances in his ripening years, a conniving marriage broker after making an advantageous match, and the daughter of a wealthy merchant with a promising dowry are all it takes to make light of the venerable institution that nevertheless weighs unbearably on the couple that “should”, would?, but never gets together. Standing in the way of their betrothal are at least three obstacles in the form of a trio of aspiring grooms (a retired sailor, a paunchy bailiff and an effeminate soldier, played to perfect pitch by Alain Lenglet, Nicolas Lormeau and Jean-Baptiste Malartre), each more fatuous than the next. No hurdle is greater however than Kapilotadov’s own fear of committing to the irreparable (Gogol lived long before drive-through divorces), not to mention Agafia Agatanovna’s “embarrassment” at the mere idea of adding “Missus” to her name. Gogol’s text takes the ceremony out of the romantic exercise with malicious glee, reducing marriage to a burlesque bargain made to the satisfaction of everyone but the bride and groom.

Lilo Baur and her cast excel at breathing a fine-tuned wit into Gogol’s satire, jumping into physical gags as surely as they opine tellingly on the risks and perils of conjugal bliss. Baur has a highly developed sense of humor and timing, from her theater training with Peter Brook and Simon McBurney’s Complicité company, and she uses it to great effect here, allowing silences and expressions to speak louder than words. The courtship scene between Kapilotadov and Agafia Agatanovna writes volumes about the characters’ hesitations in their mute exchanges. What woman wants, God provides, the adage goes, but nothing beats instinct, in the form of (at last one) man’s fight or flight response. No wedding bells ring in Gogol’s text but Baur’s “Mariage” is a no less joyful assembly.

To Jan. 2., Tues, 7 pm, Wed-Sat, 8 pm, Sun, 4 pm, Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier, 21 rue du Vieux-Colombier, 6e, M° St. Sulpice, 8€-29€, tel: 01.44.39.87.00, www.comedie-francaise.fr

Photo Credit: Cosimo Mirco Magliocca