Dear Antoine: or, the Love That Failed

Cher Antoine ou l'Amour raté
Cher Antoine ou l'Amour raté
Written by	Jean Anouilh
Date premiered	October 1, 1969
Place premiered	Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Original language	French
Setting	Bavaria

Cher Antoine ou l'Amour raté is a play in four acts by French dramatist Jean Anouilh. It was written and first produced in Paris in October 1, 1969^[1] in a production that was co-directed by the author.

Synopsis

The play takes place in Bavaria in 1913. Antoine was a famous playwright and director, who died in his castle in Bavaria where he had retired. (He killed himself accidentally while cleaning his gun.) The important people in his life, including his ex-wives, all came to the castle for a reading of his last will and testament. They were all trapped by an avalanche, and had to stay in the castle until the road would be cleared. Antoine had organized this gathering in detail, and had even written a play about it.^[2]

Original cast

Jacques François: Antoine
Claude Nicot: Cravatar
Hubert Deschamps: Marcellin
Pierre Bertin: hare foot
Joseph Falcucci: Alexandre
Francine Bergé: Estelle
Françoise Rosay: Carlotta
Nelly Benedetti: Valérie
Uta Taeger: Anemone
Madeleine Ozeray: Gabrielle
Édith Scob: Maria
Madeleine Suffel: Frida
Roland Pietri: The German notary
The actors, played by different characters
Alexis, mute character, played by Alexander
A small German valet, mute character
The consul of France, invisible character

Film adaptation

The 2012 film, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!, directed by Alain Resnais, is a loose adaptation of Dear Antoine, or the Love that Failed. Resnais and Anouilh had worked together on a number of plays.^[3]

References

^ Joseph Towler Knox (Summer 1970). "Cher Antoine: Jean Anouilh's reflection on his own works". UR Scholarship Repository. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
^ Anhouilh, Jean. Dear Antoine: Or, the Love That Failed. Hill & Wang (January 1971) ISBN 978-0809012251
^ Labuza, Peter (June 6, 2013). "Review: Alain Resnais' You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 2021-12-06.