Jean-Luc Lagarce Nous, les héros direction Philippe Sireuil Excerpts (...) The Grandfather I don't understand. Where are we? Here, today, I don't know, I am lost. She talks about Prussians, I didn't understand that, are we in Prussia? What a strange idea. At the railway station, I didn't read the sign, I don't remember, is it possible, or still, what happens to me sometimes, I get confused with another town, another day. This evening - here - where are we? Eduardowa " Prussians ", she said it just like that, it's an expression. Her way of speaking. Joséphine No more in Prussia than anywhere else. Nowhere, I'm afraid. The Grandfather Insults, yes. That did surprise me. Prussia, it's much further away. Joséphine That way. (...) (...) Karl They are still after me. Don't intervene, they want me to become a reasonable man, why would I want to be a reasonable man? Raban This is none of my business. Karl The whole afternoon again - can I say that? - the whole afternoon again, I thought about my Great-leap-out-of-the-window... I was quite pleased with that, the image of the little monkey crushed five floors below. (...) (...) Monsieur Tschissik I'm probably ill, a serious illness, I haven't spoken about it for I don't wish to worry anybody, but I'm ill and my whole body is itching. The meals are bad, the restaurants and the hotel-keepers see us coming and try to poison us by getting rid of rotten food. They're cynical, they know they won't see us again and that we'll die in atrocious suffering far away, on the roads and the lanes. After the midday meal, my face was red, no not red, rainbow-coloured, rainbow-coloured and purple, rainbow-coloured, purple and very hot and I scared myself when I looked in the mirror. The Grandfather I would have preferred to keep it a secret but I must say, between us, that I'm not feeling very well either. I don't want to alarm anyone, things are too difficult, already, for me to be ill, it's forbidden - what would you all do without me? I can't imagine - and perhaps, with a bit of luck, it is only a temporary alarm. But pain creeps in little by little and make its way. Monsieur Tschissik The first signs should never be neglected... I once knew an actor, elderly, whose heart gave up in mid- performance... a Shakespeare play, a rather violent one, I must admit... The Grandfather But I think, in this instance, that my case consists only of a difficult relationship between the mouth and the stomach, a brutal incompatibility... Max And all evening long, like every evening, as they slowly take off their makeup, they mention with tenderness and great seriousness their constipation problems... Monsieur Tschissik Naturally, we mustn't exaggerate, I am still young and I have many hopes before me.... (...) (....) Karl I don't want to be employed any more. Mademoiselle Perhaps you don't want to accept the rules. We understand that. It's not good, you can ignore them when you are a child, you can believe that, but later you have to submit to them. The managing director is exceedingly dissatisfied with his employees, all managing directors are dissatisfied with their employees, the difference between manager and employee is too great not to always be subject to dissatisfaction. That, that is a rule. Raban You're not listening. You could logically become the director of this firm if you wished, you could have done it, I'm not worried about myself, but here again you should have decided, you should make a decision and follow the rules and you would not be able to flee into solitude or tomfoolery. You should respond. Monsieur Tschissik But is everyone getting up? I thought we were sitting down... The Grandfather I understand nothing about what they are doing. Monsieur Tschissik Shall we eat? Joséphine You should take an interest and if you stay with us, you should make this effort, you should take an interest in the difficulties, in the difficulties and nothing else, you should take an interest in the difficulties and force yourself to resolve them, you will enjoy it and you will change and you will enjoy the change even more. Karl As a child, I felt fear, and if it wasn't fear, at least a certain uneasiness, a dull restlessness, I felt a certain anxiety every time my father spoke about the end of the month, and, I think he used to speak about the end of the month every day. Joséphine The end of the month can never be definitively vanquished, as once it has passed, without noticing as much as one had thought, most of the difficulties remain, scarcely submerged for an instant and immediately resurfacing. The Mother Every thirty days. Karl And you want me to consecrate my life to that? (...) (...) The Mother You will never set foot here again! Joséphine Don't touch him! You're not going to fight, are you? Max I served you for five years, I put up with everything in this troupe, I played everything, the worst nonsense, I understood nothing, I played it all the same, it was nonsense and I played this nonsense and now you're going to send me packing! You're going to get rid of me as if I didn't exist? You're joking! You can't do things like that! You have no right! There are rules, there are rights, the work code, things like that! The Mother Socialist, that's it exactly, socialist, unionised Bolshevik, card-carrying Leninist! The work code, you know what you can do with it! You are going to leave, I insist that you leave, this is my home here, this evening, here, this is my home, this is like my home, my house, my company and you are going to leave and if you don't leave, I will throw you out myself! With my hands! With my own hands! The Grandfather Grab him! Joséphine Are you crazy! We have to separate them! They are going to fight! Raban Let them go! They won't go far. Joséphine If we don't do anything, if nobody does anything, someone will get hurt! Monsieur Tschissik What can I do, I'm not going to go and slip in there in the middle and get hit! Max I want my hat! Give me back my hat! Fascist! Fascist! Give me back my hat! (...) © 2001 "Théâtre-contemporain.net". Tous droits réservés.