''The Apollo of Bellac'' (French title: ''L'Apollon de Bellac'' or ''L'Apollon de Marsac'') is a comedic one-act play written in 1942 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux.

Plot summary

The play is set in the reception room of the International Bureau of Inventions, during autumn in Paris. It focuses on a timid, young woman by the name of Agnes. After she arrives, she is given the most powerful secret in life by a homeless man from the little town of

Bellac Bellac (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Inhabitants are known as ''Bellachons''. Bellac is where the French author Jean Giraudoux, writer of ''L'Apollon de Bellac'', was born ...

. The Times, 13 August 1955; ''Giraudoux Play On Television "The Apollo Of Bellac"'' Like Giraudoux himself, the man comes from the Limousin region of France. The secret he gives her is to tell all men that they are beautiful ("How beautiful you are!" or "Comme vous êtes beau!") and they will play right into your hands. She quickly catches on and the men of the Bureau fall for her left and right. In the Valency translation, it ends with her meeting the handsome (and single) Chairman of the Board, and everyone wondering what has happened to the great man (the homeless inventor) who quietly slipped away.

Cast and productions

''L'Apollon de Bellac'' was translated into English by Maurice Valency, in Jean Giraudoux, ''Four Plays'', vol. 1 (1958), and 1957 by Ronald Duncan. ''The Apollo of Bellac'' was first performed as ''L'Apollon de Marsac'' on 16 June 1942 at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro. The first performance in Paris was on 19 April 1947 at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in a production by

Louis Jouvet Jules Eugène Louis Jouvet (24 December 1887 – 16 August 1951) was a French actor, theatre director and filmmaker. Early life Jouvet was born in Crozon. He had a stutter as a young man and originally trained as a pharmacist. He receive ...

. Cast at the Paris premiere included

Dominique Blanchar Dominique Blanchar (born Dominique Marie Thérèse Blanchard; 2 June 1927 – 19 November 2018) was a stage, television, and film actress from France. She won two Molière Awards in her career. Personal life Dominique Blanchar was born in Pari ...

, as Agnes;

Lucienne Bogaert Lucienne Bogaert (born Lucienne Jeanne Gabrielle Lefebvre; 6 January 1892 in Caudry, Nord – 4 February 1983 in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine) was a French actress. She started her career in theatre, but later also worked in film. After she divorce ...

, as Therese;

, as "The Man from Bellac"; and Jacques Monod, as Mr Cracheton. In 1955, in Tony Richardson's directing début,David Parkinson, ‘Richardson, Cecil Antonio ony(1928–1991)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 the play was produced for Television with Denholm Elliott and Natasha Parry in the main roles. Richardson would also direct the stage play two years later, with Richard Pasco and

Heather Sears Heather Christine Sears (28 September 1935 – 3 January 1994) was a British stage and screen actress. Early life Sears was the daughter of distinguished London doctor William Gordon Sears by his marriage to Eileen Gould."SEARS, Heather, actre ...

. "The moment

he Man He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

is cast as a big beautiful man with curly ringlets, the play is spoiled."—Maurice Valency

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Apollo Of Bellac Plays by Jean Giraudoux 1942 plays One-act plays Plays set in France