French Without a Master:

a Farce in One Act:

by Tristan Bernard:

Translated by Barrett H.Clark

Samuel French: Publisher
28-30 West Thirty-eighth Street: New York

TRISTAN BERNARD.

Tristan Bernard stands in much the same relationto contemporary French drama as George Cohandoes to that of our own country: in his comediesthe most amusing types of the society of the dayare set forth with a good-humor and freshnesswhich gives them an individual charm all their own.Many of his numerous plays are broad farces, butthere is a philosophical strain running throughoutwhich raises them out of the realm of the purelytheatrical. In “On nait esclave” (“Born Slaves”)and “Le Petit Café” (“The Little Café”), forexample, we find a serious comment on life; this,however, never interferes with the joyous course ofthe comedy, but rather forms a background.

One of Bernard’s earliest plays was “L’Anglaistel qu’on le parle,” which is here (necessarily, onaccount of the fact that English is used in theoriginal text as a foreign language) adapted, forthe first time in English. The cleverness of theplot, the character of the interpreter, the brightnessof the dialogue, have caused the little farce to beretained in the repertory of the Comédie Française,where it is performed many times every year, withever-increasing popularity.

Chanoine-Malherbe and Séraphine should speakgood French, or at least some approximation whichshall sound fluent and easy to the audience.Amateurs are urged not to over-act: this play isone which can easily be over-accentuated. Percy,in particular, should behave throughout as a veryquiet and phlegmatic person.