H. and F., an old working-class couple, dwell on their past while waiting to die in a hospice. Their dialogue develops in a suspended time and a dark atmosphere. Between recriminations, sadness and bitter memories, time is filled only with their quarrels and the few repetitive actions they perform every day in their room. Pierrot, their only son, who has not visited them for a long time, is a constant presence-absence in their daily life, one of their main sources of discussion.

Adults

Lemahieu Daniel

France

Paris

Avignon

Printed

Typed or electronic text with handwritten annotations

Old age

Couple

Domestic violence

Labour

Unemployment

Society

Worker

Daily

Taboo

Loneliness

Oppression

Sub-text

Homosexuality

Realist

Burlesque

French

Old man

Old woman

Domestic scene

Invisible character

Argument

Awaiting

Silence

Analepsis (Flash-back)

Entre Chien et Loup

At twilight

A man named Précair has just lost his job. Sitting on a public bench, he suddenly sees a huge branch fall from a tree. Another day, in the same place, Précair's left arm falls off, then his right. To help him, a kind man takes him to an arm merchant. But as Précair has little money, he leaves the shop with two pieces of wood instead of arms. His wife Zalou leaves him. Précair, now made entirely of wood, runs after work, which constantly eludes him. Hired as a flower pot during a social cocktail party, Précair is treated like an insignificant object, then thrown out onto the street. He loses his head (which is picked up by a dog), then his speech. Précair, now with a dog's head, behaves like one and is taken in by homeless people who are victims of a slum landlord. A dog with a human head (Précair's) arrives and sniffs Précair lying on the ground. Précair stands up, regaining his human appearance. He follows the dog up a long staircase that leads him to the middle of the sky.

Young audiences

Cagnard Jean

Meung-sur-Loire

Precariousness

Dehumanisation

Tree

Dismembering

Homeless

Slumlord

Hunger

Absurd

Fantastic

Comical

Ironic

Chômeur

Wife

Policeman

Landlord

Parable

Silent scene

Set that comes to life

Character ejected through the door

Fall of a set element

Comical fall of a character

Fall of a body part

Throwing rubbish at a character

Scream

Rainfall on stage

A human-faced animal

Inserting poetry

Chorality

Ascension

Character represented in animal form

L’Entonnoir

Funnel