Written by Georges Feydeau in collaboration with George Hennequin in 1892, Le système Ribardier is a comedy in three acts performed at the Théâtre de la Pépinière until July 16, 2016. This piece reveals the manipulation of woman by man in all its glory.
A comedy with a subversive mess
"But look at me… Eyes in eyes, hands in hands, a magic formula and here is Madame Ribardier asleep in an artificially induced sleep.
From boundless jealousy following the setbacks of her previous late husband, Angèle Ribardier (Hélène Babu) has become paranoid. She fervently spies on the activities of her second husband, convinced of his guilty behavior.
Monsieur Ribardier (Pierre Gérard) has an unstoppable ingenuity: hypnosis. Only the system seems to fail following the arrival of Aristide Thommereux (Romain Lagarde), Madame's transi lover. In order not to betray his friend, the late Robineau, Angela's first husband, Thommereux had gone into exile in Batavia patiently waiting for the latter's death in order to win back the widow.
Ribardier seems to make us believe that Angèle, being a "woman", has predispositions to hysteria, however, we discover that she had real reasons to be suspicious of her husband who repeatedly cheats on her. She takes her revenge by trapping him in turn in the third act, claiming that she would have been abused under hypnosis. This is how it highlights the excesses of this medicine.
All the codes of a Vaudeville are united: frivolity, carelessness, adultery, betrayal and misunderstandings.Moreover, the lightness of this text can reveal the individualism of the characters which translates into spontaneous violence.
The social divide is caricatured and assumed. The role of bourgeois and domestic servants is excessively stereotyped. The maid, Sophie (Ludmilla Dabo), extorts a tip from her boss in order to deliver her mail directly without going through Madame. While Madame is accused of having the coachman as her lover. She only protested against her status, replying:
"He would be a good man, again! But a coachman?».
Everyone makes fun of values, including servants, as long as appearances are saved. The stories of decadent sunsets belong to each era, ours is not spared.
The words trudge on both sides, to the point of making us dizzy given their resemblance to the word before or the word after. We are then swept up in a whirlwind of human mediocrity revealed in all its glory.
The frenzied cadence of a Vaudeville revisited
It is with the artistic collaboration of Denis Loubaton that the director, Jean-Philippe Vidal, offers us the refined décor of a contemporary apartment. This is how they manage to establish the renewal of a genre theatre. It is interesting to note that the presence in the background of a frame in the form of a cinemascope, on which appears the portrait of the deceased Robineau, appears as a specter witness of the action. Words fuse like slamming doors, Feydeau's universe, particularly coded, is interpreted with incredible energy. Absurd situations follow one another against the background of a freedom of tone that contrasts with the bourgeois language of our time.
We sink into a grivoiserie that accentuates the comic effect by the pantomic gestures of the characters. The scene of Ribardier transporting his wife in order to install her in the vestibule is hilarious because it makes her take the most incongruous positions.
The Ribardier System is a Feydeau full of surprises, between the double game of language and the aside addressed to the public that make us indulgent in the face of the pettiness of the characters. Moreover, credulity is pushed to its climax in order to create unlikely situations. We can, however, regret a certain inaction. Since the action is mainly focused around hypnosis, the last two acts only respond to the plots instead of creating new ones.
So to speak, if there is a morality, it seems sinister! Individuals are rainy and perverse. None of the characters come out grown. Far from a simple boulevard theater, this play presents itself as a cynical satyr of a society monopolized by its ramblings and obsessions.
The strong point of this play is reflected in the play of the actors who take you through their adventures in a frantic rhythm without leaving you any respite. I invite you to see The Ribardier System for its ingenuity whose distribution deserves praise.
Practical information:
The Ribardier System at the Théâtre de la Pépinière
7 rue Louis le Grand, 75002 Paris
Reservation at 01.42.61.44.16 until July 16, 2016
Duration:1h50 without intermission
