French Without
Tears

French Without Tears
by Terence Rattigan

Is she learning French too? No, she just stops us from learning it.

French Without Tears is, to an extent, an autobiographical play which was inspired by Rattigan’s time in France studying languages to be a diplomat like his father before him. Rattigan took two years to make an attempt at a writing career before giving into the diplomat path of his father. At the end of the two years, French Without Tears hit the stage to triumphant applause and continued to run for over 1000 performances. It premiered at the Criterion Theatre in London on November 6, 1936 and was such a huge success it is credited with establishing the name of Terence Rattigan in the theatrical world. Rattigan is now considered one of the century’s finest writers for the stage and the Shaw Festival has produced several of his works including After the Dance (2008) and Harlequinade (2004).

French Without Tears is set in the home of Maingot the French language tutor, where a group of young men stay to improve their French skills. Some of the men want to become diplomats but most have been sent by their parents. Although house rules stipulate no English is to be spoken, most of the men spend their time being distracted by Diana, the English-speaking sister of Kit. Diana has the uncanny ability to make any man fall in love with her – anyone but Alan that is.

The group of young men is disrupted by a new pupil, Lieutenant-Colonel Rogers, an older naval officer. The men now have a new competitor and Diana has a new conquest. As Rogers shakes up the dynamic of the group, the tensions between them emerge and come to a head. Alan, continually stuck up and seemingly immune to Diana’s charms, is forced to choose between his love of writing and his father’s expectations of a career as a diplomat:

Brian: What does His Excellency have to say about the idea, by the way?

Alan: … His Excellency says that he doesn’t mind me choosing my own career a bit, provided always it’s the one he’s chosen for me.

Brian: Broad-minded, eh?

Alan: That’s right. Always sees two sides to every question – his own, which is the right one, and anyone else’s, which is the wrong one.

Alan’s dilemma highlights the expectations of Rattigan’s generation of young men, particularly calling attention to Rattigan’s own familial struggles over his decision to be a writer.

The year 2011 marked the centenary of Terence Rattigan and many revivals of his work appeared throughout the world. Flarepath at the Haymarket Theatre, Cause Célèbre at the Old Vic, The Deep Blue Sea at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Man and Boy on Broadway were among a myriad of other productions to hit the stage last year. Our production, directed by Kate Lynch, features Wade Bogert-O’Brien as Kit, Martin Happer as Rogers, Julie Martell as Jacqueline, Ben Sanders as Alan and Robin Evan Willis as Diana.