The Madwoman of Chaillot

By Jean Giraudoux

The Madwoman of Chaillot reveals a plot by a group of corrupt business executives who are planning to dig up the streets of Paris so they can pump oil that they believe lies beneath. Their plot is challenged by the titular “Madwoman,” the eccentric Countess Aurelia, an idealist who resolves to fight back and rescue humanity from the scheming and corrupt developers with the help of her fellow outcasts and her fellow madwomen. Originally written to protest thoughtless urban renewal, The Madwoman of Chaillot has remained remarkably up-to-date. Today, the play speaks to environmental concerns, the destruction of the natural world, and the manipulation of world financial markets.

Director John Arthur Lewis, who also staged Promethean’s productions of Anouilh’s The Lark and Giraudoux’s Tiger at the Gates, says “The play is surprisingly modern and accessible. In my head, it sounds like Aaron Sorkin at his funniest, Monty Python, or the craziest episodes of M*A*S*H. But there’s a lot of value in this play beyond the comedy.I think it can be something unique, powerful, and profound.”