Playwright
So far, septival has written seven plays of the vaudeville type – his favourite theatrical genre. Two of them have been brought to stage by Les Entractés, a theatre company from St-Cergue (VD). .
The poster for 'Soudés et fidèles', a play by septival which was performed by Les Entractés throughout French-speaking Switzerland in autumn 2019
L'armoire normande (celle où Monsieur range son matériel) tells the story of a newly-formed gay couple. One of them, a cross-dressing cabaret singer who has just moved into the other one's flat, gets an unexpected visit from his mother, who believes him to be a straight businessman living by himself. Further mix-ups, misunderstandings and undesirable pop-ups will end up tying up the situation… which will miraculously unwind at the last minute.
In Les Mocassins Bleus (performed in 2019 under the title "Soudés et fidèles...") you will meet Martine Meyer who worries unnecessarily. Indeed, as her husband Georges puts it, their adoption procedure has run perfectly so far, why should there be any trouble with the final step – an unplanned call at their home? Moreover, since Martine's favourite fortune teller – who is always right – says they will come in five days, why would they not try to relax for now? Together... or separately? After all, it would take a very highly-unfortunate series of improbable visitors, carpentry issues, mobile network outages and awkward confusions to endanger the application of such a tight-knit and faithful couple!
Marc Goulain may be the lead character of Feu de tout boa, but he is far from being a hero. Stuck in a wheelchair, he makes the most of his situation: he abuses his wife Sandriane's kindness all day long, and then, when she leaves for her shift as a night nurse, he lets his lover Ariane into their home. On top of this, he illegally owns a facetious boa constrictor who particularly enjoys playing hide-and-seek. The snake is about to win when the police call at the door, looking for a place to stake out a neighbour on the opposite side of the street. When the snake turns out to be hiding on the sofa, between a highly-committed Christian policewoman and the sanguine-natured lover, when modern technology starts playing games, the evening's outcome can only be dramatic.
AirB'n'B will introduce you to Vanessa Van Hess (who is unable to speak out the "H" in her name), a brainless stewardess whose husband, having invested all her money in a doomed business, tries to raise some cash by letting their apartment as an AirBnB whenever she is on duty. Well… actually he rents the whole place except the sitting room, which becomes his bedroom. And of course, he only finds availability for young, single, sexy girls. But his well-oiled organisation threatens to collapse every minute when a sudden strike, his best friend, an invasive neighbour and awful coincidences begin to mix it all up.
Claudine L'Essaim, the best-selling author of Le Troisième Samedi du mois, has never introduced her twin sister Claudette to her husband Jean-Jacques, because she has cut off with this shameless copy of herself for years. But when random put Claudette on Jean-Jacques' path, he fell for her at once. And this woman, as joyful and open-minded as her his wife is austere and dull, became his secret lover.
Bringing into to this tricky situation an unpredictable detective, an unscrupulous editor, an untimely coma recovery and an incompetent relooking company will not make it any better !
Violaine and Gauthier, a freshly-retired, post-hippie couple, have all they need to be happy. Well... almost: their (not so) secret dream is to become grandparents. But which of their four children will give them this pleasure? Definitely not Roch, the retarded teenager and video games addict. Nor the eternally-insatisfied Mireille, even though she has been married for years. As for Caroline, children are probably too cumbersome for such a free spirit. But when Sébastien, the youngest and very reserved son, asks if he can bring Adèle to the traditional Sunday dinner, they have high hopes. Will La Belle Adèle live up to their expectations ?
Written especially for Les Entractés' twentieth anniversary, Le Colosse Copie is an absurdly tragic and pathetic comedy in which actors get entangled in their characters (and vice versa), pass on the most rotten parts to others and are left with no other choice but to solve a bogus crime mistery to gain the right to close the curtain and go home.
© septival 2023