Léocadia

Léocadia is a French romantic comedy in two acts by Jean Anouilh (1910–1987)[1]. .

The original text

It tells the story of a young nobleman who mourns the death of a Romanian opera singer, Léocadia Gardi, whom he loved until the dream is shattered and a new love enters through a re-enactment of his past by Amanda, a look-alike of Léocadia. The play premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de la Michodière in Paris on 2 December 1940.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into English as Time Remembered by Patricia Moyes (1923-2000)[2]. The translation was performed in London in 1955 with Paul Scofield, Margaret Rutherford, and Mary Ure in th eleads, and on Broadway in 1957 with Richard Burton, Helen Hayes, and Susan Strasberg, winning several awards.

Jeffrey Hatcher[3] also did English adaption of the play called To Fool the Eye, based on a literal translation by Stephanie L. Debner. It was first performed at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, in October of 2000 - directed by John Miller-Stephany. The text was published by Dramatists Play Service Inc. in 2000.

Performance history in South Africa

1954: Performed as Léocadia by the Little Theatre Players at the Little Theatre in May, directed by Donald Inskip. (Most probably done in English, possibly using the one by Moyes, or else one done by the Francophile Inskip himself.)