Eight loving women
STEP ONE
Morning rays of the pale sun illuminate the living room. Pinkish-yellow flames frolic in the fireplace. Somewhere in the depths of the house, the clock strikes ten. Grandmother appears in a wheelchair. She moves slowly, cautiously, stops near the bookshelves and presses a button. A cache opens among the books: a small niche, pasted over with book spines on the outside. Grandma, hearing the noise, hurriedly slams the door and leaves with such agility, which could not be suspected in her.
Chanel comes down the stairs. She stops at the landing at the owner's door. Listens. Silence behind the door. Somewhere in the distance, a car horn is heard. Madame runs to the front door, wiping her hands on her apron as she goes.
CHANEL: It's her! She's driving! (Swifthead runs back to the stairs. Louise appears on the top steps with a tray.) They drive up. Suzon is coming! I heard a car horn.
LOUISE: Congratulations.
CHANEL: Oh, I'm glad! My Suzon! After all, I raised her. For ten years we were inseparable. She is like a daughter to me.
LOUISE: (indifferently) I know...
CHANEL: How time flies!.. Suzon is in her twenties. Since she is studying in England, I only see her twice a year.
LOUISE: And I know that.
CHANEL: Well, let's take the Christmas tree! (takes a big bag, tries to untie the rope)
LOUISE: I've been here for two months, and you tell the same story from morning till night (clears the table lazily).
CHANEL: When you serve in the house for fifteen years, you begin to believe that this is your house and your children! You will feel it too with time.
LISA: (mockingly) Do you think I'll live my whole life as a maid.
CHANEL: Don't you like it?
LOUISE: (ironically) Oh, you! I am delighted.
CHANEL: Then why are you doing this?
LOUISE: (confused) Why? It's necessary to live.
CHANEL: You ended up in a good family.
LOUISE: (ironically) Do you think so?
CHANEL: Of course, with Mademoiselle Suzon it was more fun here.
LOUISE: So I was unlucky, late.
CHANEL: But we'll have a great Christmas!
LOUISE: (nibbles on the remaining sugar) Of course! Candlelight Christmas Eve!
Amazing! And no way out! From this hole to the nearest village five kilometers. And then through the forest. And so much snow fell at night. I won't even make it to the village ball. Good holiday! There is no TV either!
CHANEL: And thank God it hurts my eyes. Have you served breakfast monsieur?
LOUISE: Not yet. He's sleeping.
CHANEL: And he doesn't know that Madame went by car to meet Suzon?
LOUISE: He told me not to wake him.
CHANEL: Don't wake up? My own daughter is coming for the holidays - and don't wake me up!
Take him breakfast. (She found scissors and is trying to cut the rope). Don't forget to warn Grandmother and Mademoiselle Augustine.
LOUISE: (venomously) Don't worry, Mademoiselle Augustine is aware of everything, otherwise what's the point of eavesdropping at the door?
CHANEL: Louise, this is insolence!
LOUISE: And you'll pretend not to notice. (leaves)
CHANEL: This girl is no good. However ... (in the end, she cut the rope and sets up a Christmas tree) (Slowly, looking around, grandmother leaves in an armchair. She again drives up to the bookshelves, but notices Chanel and assumes a formidable look).
GRANDMA: Ah-ah-ah! Dear Chanel! Is Susan here already?
CHANEL: Your granddaughter will be here any minute. I already heard the car horn. But the road is so skidded that they probably have difficulty making their way.
GRANDMA: (examines the tree) What a beauty!
CHANEL: And we will decorate it. GRANDMA: Do you like to do it?
CHANEL: Very! More than anything else!
GRANDMA: You are a kind woman, Chanel.
CHANEL: And everyone is kind to you, madam.
GRANDMA: Yes, I'm happy. Marcel gave me and Augustine shelter. But still we are not at home here.
CHANEL: Just think what a memory they have! (Suzon enters. She puts the suitcase on the floor and throws herself into her grandmother's arms.)
SUZON: Grandma!
GRANDMA: Suzon, my granddaughter, Suzon! (seeing Chanel) Chanel, Chanel!
CHANEL: My girl! (Suzon and Chanel kiss, Gaby enters.)
GABY: She's great, isn't she?
GRANDMA: Quite a bride.
SUZON: (laughs) I agree with that. Just please hurry the suitors.
GRANDMA: Your father will be happy to see you. Chanel call him soon.
CHANEL: He asked not to wake him.
SUSAN: How? Eleven o'clock and he's still in bed?
GRANDMA: Probably. He worked late.
CHANEL: He's very tired. He just wears himself out with work.
GABY: (mockingly) Works hard. Probably read all night long (leaves)
SSZON: How, perhaps? Do they have different bedrooms now?
CHANEL: (trying to change the subject) How's the weather in England? Nothing?
SUSAN: All right.
CHANEL: What, what?
SUZON: That's me in English.
CHANEL: With me? In English? Funny. In English, I only know "good bye" and "kiss me" - kiss me.
SUZON: Kiss me? Have you already said this to at least one Englishman?
CHANEL: Of course. And not alone. To every Englishman. To get chewing gum. (Everyone laughs. Gaby enters. Chanel catches her breath) Oh, I forgot to order breakfast. (leaves).
SUZON: Ah, it's good to be back here, my dear old house.
GABY: Oh, that expensive old house. It could do with a major overhaul. But your father likes him that way too. What can you do? (Louise enters with things).
Suzon, this is Louise. Our new maid.
SUZON: Hello, Louise.
LOUISE: Hello, mademoiselle. Have you arrived well?
SUSAN: Very. Despite bad weather. When we drove through the forest, the wind swept the snow from the trees, and no one was around. Such loneliness, as if you are no longer on earth, but in heaven.
GABY: In the desert, actually. You have to travel many kilometers to see a human face. What would we do without a phone and a car? And that high wall around the villa? We are cut off from the world. We miss it here so much... But it means absolutely nothing to your father. This is dearer to him than our mood. He says that only here he manages to take a break from business. Still would! He leaves for the whole day, and we die of boredom. (Sits down, looks through newspapers and mail.)
LOUISE: Maybe Madame will let you wake Monsieur?
SUZON: I'll wake him up myself.
GABY: No, no! Let him rest. And since he asked not to wake up - do not wake up.
Mercy Louise. (Louise takes away Suzon's coat and suitcase).
SUZON: Are you happy with her, ma?
GABY: Very much. GRANDMA: He says something inarticulate.
GABY: She agreed to live in this wilderness, locked up, away from people...
Eight loving women
STEP ONE
Morning rays of the pale sun illuminate the living room. Pinkish-yellow flames frolic in the fireplace. Somewhere in the depths of the house, the clock strikes ten. Grandmother appears in a wheelchair. She moves slowly, cautiously, stops near the bookshelves and presses a button. A cache opens among the books: a small niche, pasted over with book spines on the outside. Grandma, hearing the noise, hurriedly slams the door and leaves with such agility, which could not be suspected in her.
Chanel comes down the stairs. She stops at the landing at the owner's door. Listens. Silence behind the door. Somewhere in the distance, a car horn is heard. Madame runs to the front door, wiping her hands on her apron as she goes.
CHANEL: It's her! She's driving! (Swifthead runs back to the stairs. Louise appears on the top steps with a tray.) They drive up. Suzon is coming! I heard a car horn.
LOUISE: Congratulations.
CHANEL: Oh, I'm glad! My Suzon! After all, I raised her. For ten years we were inseparable. She is like a daughter to me.
LOUISE: (indifferently) I know...
CHANEL: How time flies!.. Suzon is in her twenties. Since she is studying in England, I only see her twice a year.
LOUISE: And I know that.
CHANEL: Well, let's take the Christmas tree! (takes a big bag, tries to untie the rope)
LOUISE: I've been here for two months, and you tell the same story from morning till night (clears the table lazily).
CHANEL: When you serve in the house for fifteen years, you begin to believe that this is your house and your children! You will feel it too with time.
LISA: (mockingly) Do you think I'll live my whole life as a maid.
CHANEL: Don't you like it?
LOUISE: (ironically) Oh, you! I am delighted.
CHANEL: Then why are you doing this?
LOUISE: (confused) Why? It's necessary to live.
CHANEL: You ended up in a good family.
LOUISE: (ironically) Do you think so?
CHANEL: Of course, with Mademoiselle Suzon it was more fun here.
LOUISE: So I was unlucky, late.
CHANEL: But we'll have a great Christmas!
LOUISE: (nibbles on the remaining sugar) Of course! Candlelight Christmas Eve!
Amazing! And no way out! From this hole to the nearest village five kilometers. And then through the forest. And so much snow fell at night. I won't even make it to the village ball. Good holiday! There is no TV either!
CHANEL: And thank God it hurts my eyes. Have you served breakfast monsieur?
LOUISE: Not yet. He's sleeping.
CHANEL: And he doesn't know that Madame went by car to meet Suzon?
LOUISE: He told me not to wake him.
CHANEL: Don't wake up? My own daughter is coming for the holidays - and don't wake me up!
Take him breakfast. (She found scissors and is trying to cut the rope). Don't forget to warn Grandmother and Mademoiselle Augustine.
LOUISE: (venomously) Don't worry, Mademoiselle Augustine is aware of everything, otherwise what's the point of eavesdropping at the door?
CHANEL: Louise, this is insolence!
LOUISE: And you'll pretend not to notice. (leaves)
CHANEL: This girl is no good. However ... (in the end, she cut the rope and sets up a Christmas tree) (Slowly, looking around, grandmother leaves in an armchair. She again drives up to the bookshelves, but notices Chanel and assumes a formidable look).
GRANDMA: Ah-ah-ah! Dear Chanel! Is Susan here already?
CHANEL: Your granddaughter will be here any minute. I already heard the car horn. But the road is so skidded that they probably have difficulty making their way.
GRANDMA: (examines the tree) What a beauty!
CHANEL: And we will decorate it. GRANDMA: Do you like to do it?
CHANEL: Very! More than anything else!
GRANDMA: You are a kind woman, Chanel.
CHANEL: And everyone is kind to you, madam.
GRANDMA: Yes, I'm happy. Marcel gave me and Augustine shelter. But still we are not at home here.
CHANEL: Just think what a memory they have! (Suzon enters. She puts the suitcase on the floor and throws herself into her grandmother's arms.)
SUZON: Grandma!
GRANDMA: Suzon, my granddaughter, Suzon! (seeing Chanel) Chanel, Chanel!
CHANEL: My girl! (Suzon and Chanel kiss, Gaby enters.)
GABY: She's great, isn't she?
GRANDMA: Quite a bride.
SUZON: (laughs) I agree with that. Just please hurry the suitors.
GRANDMA: Your father will be happy to see you. Chanel call him soon.
Eight loving women is an action-packed detective production, the finale of which will shock every viewer. Detached estate. All its inhabitants are preparing for the celebration of Christmas. But on the eve of the holiday, the owner of the house is found dead in his own bedroom. What's happened? Who became the killer? The daughter of the victim decided to figure it out. Every resident of the estate fell under her suspicion - mother, sister, aunt, and even a young maid and an old governess. When comparing all the facts, it turns out that each had a motive for a merciless murder. But who is to blame?
For the production of the play "Eight Loving Women", chic scenery was created that creates a complete feeling of being in a rich estate. The audience will see a huge house with large windows, stairs, high ceilings and a secret closet. The performance will be appreciated by every fan of detective stories. And anyone can watch it, you just need to buy tickets on our website.
The play "Eight Loving Women" will take place at the Maly Theater.
The Maly Theater invites its audience to plunge into the world of secrets hidden under the cover of bourgeois decency. A homestead cut off from the outside world. Eight women are preparing to celebrate Christmas. Suddenly, the owner of the house is found dead in his own bedroom. Which of the eight is the killer? The classic detective story of Robert Thomas will be played by the leading actresses of the Maly Theater in the play "Eight Loving Women".
trailerTranslation by A. Reizhevsky and M. Levina
The performance comes with one intermission.
Duration - 2 hours 30 minutes
From the history:
Robert Thomas is a French playwright, director and actor. Skillfully maneuvering between comedy, detective and drama, the writer gains worldwide popularity thanks to three plays that have been repeatedly filmed: "The Trap for a Single Man", "Eight Women" and "The Parrot and the Chicken" (rather known as "Look for a Woman").
The ironic detective "Eight Women" was especially fond of the theaters of our country: in different time it was staged at the Maly Theatre, the Satire Theater, the Novosibirsk Musical Comedy Theater and many others. Also this misterious story may be familiar to the Russian audience from the film of the same name directed by Francois Ozon with the stars of world cinema.
Plot:
In a country villa covered with snow, eight women are preparing for the "family" Christmas. There won't be a holiday. After all, the owner of the villa, Marcel, is missing, whom the heroines will find in the office ... with a knife in his back. A wife, her sister, two daughters, a grandmother, maids or a sister - any of them can be a murderer. Who is this?..
About the performance:
In the production, where the plot is shrouded in riddles, and unexpected and shocking secrets are hidden behind the masks of aristocratic upbringing and politeness, the images of women, unique and multifaceted, reign. In the Tver Academic Drama Theater, the bright characters of the Eight Loving Women are embodied by the leading actresses of the theater.