''Léocadia'' (''Time Remembered'') is a play by

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

that premiered at the

Théâtre de la Michodière The Théâtre de la Michodière () is a theatre building and performing arts venue, located at 4 bis, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Built by in 1925 in Art Deco style, it has a tradition of showing boulevard theatre. History On the ...

in Paris on 2 December 1940. It is one of Anouilh's ''Pièces roses'', together with '' Humulus le muet'' (1932), '' Le Bal des voleurs'' (1938), and ' (1941). For the occasion,

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

composed one of his most celebrated songs, " Les Chemins de l'amour", sung by Yvonne Printemps.

Plot

''Léocadia'' tells the story of a young prince madly in love with a Romanian opera singer, Léocadia Gardi. The young man only knew her for three days: like

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American-born dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance and performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Bor ...

, she died strangled by her shawl. Inconsolable, he lives in his memory of the young woman. His aunt—the Duchesse d'Andinet d'Andaine—reconstructs the setting and places of those three days like a theater director. Actors play the parts of the butler and servants during those days of happiness. Amanda, a poor milliner and look-alike of the singer, is called upon to seduce the prince, in the hope that life will prevail over memory. At first, the young man clings desperately to his dream, but eventually comes to realize through Amanda that his memory of Léocadia corresponds to his fear of life being so ephemeral. His anguish at leaving an illusory memory yields soon to the call of real life. The rigid, theatrical world imagined by the duchess falls apart, becoming a false comedy. The prince leaves his illusions and discovers that Léocadia was only an ideal, devoid of substance. His love of Amanda helps him return to real life.

Premiere cast

* Yvonne Printemps: Amanda *

Pierre Fresnay Pierre Fresnay (; 4 April 1897 – 9 January 1975) was a French stage and film actor. Biography Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach, he was encouraged by his uncle, actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film. He joined the company ...

: The Prince * Marguerite Deval: The Duchess *

Victor Boucher Victor Louis Armand Boucher (24 August 1877 – 21 February 1942) was a French actor. Biography Victor Boucher was born, on 24 August 1877, in Rouen, in a house on the rue Saint-Étienne-des-Tonneliers. His parents had a café-restaurant in ...

: The Butler * in minor roles: Paul Demange, Léon Larive, Mercédès Brare, Henri-Richard, Jacques Januar and Henry Gaultier * Director:

André Barsacq André Barsacq (24 January 1909 – 8 July 1973) was a French theatre director, producer, scenic designer, and playwright. From 1940 to 1973 he was the director of the Théâtre de l'Atelier. He was the brother of Russian production designer Lé ...

* Music:

* Premiere: 2 December 1940 * Closed after 173 performances on 27 April 1941

Translation and adaptation

Patricia Moyes Patricia Pakenham-Walsh, also known as Patricia Moyes (19 January 1923 – 2 August 2000) was a British mystery writer. Her mystery novels feature Criminal Investigation Department, C.I.D. Inspector Henry Tibbett. One of them, ''Who Saw Her Die'' ...

translated the play to English, using the title ''Time Remembered''. It was staged both in London and on Broadway in 1957, with

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

and

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

in the leading parts. In 2000,

Jeffrey Hatcher Jeffrey Hatcher is a much-produced American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote the stage play ''Compleat Female Stage Beauty'', which he later adapted into a screenplay, shortened to just '' Stage Beauty'' (2004). He also co-wrote the stage a ...

wrote an adaptation of the play in English, calling it ''To Fool the Eye''.

Reprise

Comédie des Champs-Élysées in 1984 * Sabine Haudepin: Amanda *

Lambert Wilson Lambert Nicolas Wilson (; né Willson, 3 August 1958) is a French actor and theatre director. He is a seven-time Cesar Award nominee, four for César Award for Best Actor, Best Actor and three for César Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Sup ...

: The Prince *

Edwige Feuillère Edwige Feuillère (born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti; 29 October 1907 – 13 November 1998) was a French stage and film actress. Biography She was born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti to an Italian architect father and an Alsace-born moth ...

: The Duchess * Philippe Khorsand: The Butler * in minor roles: Jacques Marchand, Jacques Plee, Robert Deslandes, Jacques Castelot, Francis Rossello and * Director: Pierre Boutron * Stage design: * Costumes: * Lighting: Boutron * Music: Poulenc * First performance on 11 September 1984

References

External links

''Léocadia : un conte de fées nostalgique''
on ''Le Figaro'' (12 October 2012)
''Léocadia''
on gallica
Lectures à une voix – Léocadia de Jean Anouilh
(in French) ina.fr
Programme 1940
regietheatrale.com
Léocadia, FP 106 (Poulenc, Francis)
on IMSLP {{DEFAULTSORT:Leocadia 1940 plays Plays by Jean Anouilh