The film released in 1970 has become a classic, in particular because of its naughty side. Now a rereading by Catherine Léger arrives on the boards of La Licorne to shed new light on a subject that never goes out of fashion: the sexual emancipation of women.
In the cinema as in the theater, Deux femmes en or tells the story of two neighbors whose life as a couple is in a bad way. Their husbands being far away, or distant, they seek to regain lost sexual desire by sleeping with the men who pass by.
“The film had a certain voyeurism that we do not reproduce in the play, warns Catherine Léger. Our goal is not to titillate! I wanted to keep alive the very free spirit of the original work, whose subject remains deeply feminist for me, since it deals with the sexual freedom of women. It was unprecedented at the time. And it still is today. »
“Catherine Léger kept the archetypal characters of the film to make them a female comic duo,” explains Isabelle Brouillette. There is the leader who will drag her more naive neighbor in her wake. By seducing all those (even those) who cross the threshold of their door, Violette and Florence are in search of pleasure, of course, but they also seek to break the shackles in which society has placed them.
Because if the times have changed, the shackles, they continue to exist, believes Catherine Léger. “There is a great rigidity that remains around what is expected of women. This rigidity is different from the 1970s, when it was taken for granted that women had no career ambitions, but it has not gone away. I think of mothers, who may or may not do this or that. You have to succeed with your children, make healthy lunches for them, not break up your family… There is a pressure of purity that is very intense. »
A certain prudery also hovers around the question of female sexuality, says the playwright.
However, the playwright (to whom we owe in particular the play that became the film Baby-sitter and the film Charlotte has fun) signs here a frank comedy, coupled with a light social criticism, but well assumed. “In my opinion, comedy allows us to go further in criticizing the ambient rigidity. Yes, I want to destabilize and provoke, but I also want the spectators to have a good time. »
For Isabelle Brouillette and Sophie Desmarais, the comic mechanics of the play represents one of the great joys they have of bringing Deux femmes en or to the stage. “I am a difficult audience for humor and I laughed a lot while reading the text, says Sophie Desmarais. There is great rigor on the part of the author for the punches, the rhythm, the game. It’s a real game of tennis that is played between our two characters. »
“It’s very sporty,” adds Isabelle Brouillette. Especially since the game of tennis is also played between the stage and the room. »
The latter reconnects for the third time with the particular universe of Catherine Léger. She has performed more than 100 performances of the play Babysitter. “Catherine is funnier and smarter than most human beings!” It’s amazing to find his handwriting. It always places women in a galvanizing state. Her female characters are in search of freedom, they thumb their noses at society, they want to break down structures. Above all, they do not want to do what is expected of them. »
In addition to the two actresses, Mathieu Quesnel, Steve Laplante and Charlotte Aubin are part of the cast of the play directed by Philippe Lambert.
Twice, the pandemic has forced the postponement of the play, which will finally be able to hatch after long months of waiting. “The timing is extraordinary,” said Isabelle Brouillette. The piece speaks of awakening, of spring, of a returning appetite. She shouts: Come back to us, desire! »
Note: Filming on the film adaptation of Catherine Léger’s screenplay is scheduled to begin in the fall. The cast has yet to be revealed. The film is scheduled for release in 2024.
