Day 216

A Night at the Theater

It has been a week or better since the invitation was proffered and time seems to slip by in an unfortunate haze.  This fact alone nearly caused a major faux pas on our part, the likes of which would have surely gotten us kicked off of the reservation so to speak.  These days, it is not an infrequent occurrence for the owner of the Chateau to stop by for a short visit.  On one such occasion, he was gracious enough to invite the wife and I to the theater.  We felt honored to be invited, but clearly not prepared for the invitation as neither the wife nor I thought to jot it down on our calendars.  Again, my old man proves correct . . . it is better to be lucky than good.  A chance passing in the drive this afternoon proved to be a lucky reminder and caused a moment or two of pure panic.  We had indeed forgotten and had nothing arranged for the children and an uncertain ETA on my wife’s return from work.  A few frantic phone calls and a life saving babysitting offer from one of my wife’s colleagues and we were able to make the 8 o’clock performance.  It was a rare treat and something that my humble words can’t possibly describe.  The performance would be a road show of sorts that would take place in the Chateau itself.  Thank God for the short commute!  We arrived just a pinch before 8 and made our timid entrance into what appeared to be the parlor.  It was a grand room filled with antique furnishings and paintings the likes of which I have only witnessed in the Louvre.  An ancient portrait of whom I believe to have been Louis XIV was the first thing to catch my eye.  We mingled to the best of our ability and were fortunate enough to be greeted on numerous occasions in our mother tongue.  In fact, one of the guests was American born and that fact helped us feel more at home.  She was an Indiana native and owner of a local bed and breakfast.  She was but one of a select group of absolutely fascinating guests.  From wine makers and inns keepers to politicians and artists, the company was as rich as the tapestry hanging on the dining room wall.  As we continued to mingle with fellow guests, the evenings performance has already begun.  At the door we were introduced to a young man whom I had simply assumed to be another guest.  Knowing little of the evening’s events, I was unaware that this individual was one of the performers and greeted us in character.  The stage was set without my knowledge and my wife and I were already participants in this stage production.  The concept was simple and yet subtle.  We were guests alright, not guests for the performance, but rather guests “in” the performance.  The young man who greeted us at the door was our host and the home we were in had changed ownership somewhere along the way.  Confused?  The performance began the moment all the guests began to arrive.  The premise was that we had in fact arrived for a birthday party.  We were the guests of the lead performer and he soon ushered us all into the dining room for a birthday celebration.  Just as we all settled in at the dining table a knock came at the adjacent door.  In came the second actor.  A stern looking woman who was portraying the young man’s mother.  Soon, I noted the subtle staging that had been so elegantly prepared.  Family pictures scattered around the room containing images of the two actors.  Everything right down to the tableware and the minimal food being served was a prop.

The actors were soon in full swing and we all sat around the table uncomfortably as our “hosts (the actors)” began to argue.  They carried on from the dining room into the adjacent kitchen and on occasion entirely out of sight.  The conversation between the two constantly audible just as if we were truly their guests and they were carrying on in their preparation of the party.  Soup was served and the actors argued about this and that.  I couldn’t understand much of the dialogue, but had this been a “REAL” dinner party, the guests would have certainly felt a bit uneasy as our “hosts” carried on with their intimate and at times agrivated conversation.  The first scene was interesting enough, but the cut for the second scene was more clever than the last.  The room went dark as the actors left with doors closed in their wake.  Soon a video commenced.  A home video shot on the beach.  After the party, the actors had gone on vacation.  The entire second scene of the play took place on a television in the dining room that was acted out on home video.  Again I didn’t understand a great deal of the substance, but could understand that they were on vacation and we were watching it on the video as though it was happening in real time.  The third scene soon followed as the video ended.  The door opened and the lights came back up as they entered in a change of costume with suitcases in hand as though they had just come back from their trip.  Once again it seemed we were their guests and more contentious conversation commenced.  The evening was marvelous and the stage production was well crafted.  I had not realized that everything down to the plates and forks had been stage props.  I thought it rude of our real hosts not to provide enough food for the entire crowd, but thought that perhaps they were just appetizers.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  The food we had consumed was simply staging and after the performance was over, the actors collected all of the plates and left to remove makeup while the “real” meal was served.  It was in fact a magnificent feast with items I could scarcely tell you the name of, but I could not complain about a single bite.  The actors soon returned out of costume and makeup and mingled around the room to answer any questions the guests had about the performance.  It was a novel evening and one that I won’t soon forget.  Any other night at the “theater” in my future is going to have to be pretty spectacular to top this one.  It sure beat the hell out of getting dressed up to sit in uncomfortable seats and stare at a stage from several rows back.

The evening eventually wound down and we thanked our hosts “real” and “imaginary” and made the 10 yard commute back to our home.  We relieved our intrepid babysitters and called it an unusual and very successful evening.  And so ends our latest adventure here in France and I will do my best to cover the remainder of the week’s end in the next day or so.  Until then . . . R.