Les Bonnes

Les Bonnesmusical theatreLes Bonnes, back at the Athénée with the Comédie-Française troupe. A new production at the Athénée. The power of performance and the power of imagination: two young maids plot the murder of their mistress in a ritual where roles are reversed.

In 1947, Jean Genet penned one of his masterpieces, which has become a classic of the modern repertoire. The maids are two sisters, Claire and Solange.

They rehearse the murder of their mistress in a ritual where the younger sister plays Madame, adorning herself in her dresses, while the elder plays the maid. Having succeeded in getting Monsieur arrested, they now plot to poison their mistress.

Genet specified that he had not written a plea for domestic servants. Nevertheless, he offers a critique of 20th-century bourgeoisie and pays particular attention to the eloquence of those who are usually denied a voice.

A renowned director on the European scene and director of the National Theatre of Catalonia, Carme Portaceli dedicates her theatre to great female figures, from Emma Bovary to Anna Karenina and Mary Magdalene.

With Les Bonnes, she focuses on the social fracture at play in this trio of young women, between the maids' hatred and the mistress's condescension.

At a time when social networks dominate the image we have and project of ourselves, she explores the contemporary echoes of this ceremony of vengeance. Mirror games multiply the tension between desire and cruelty, the confusion between dream and reality.

The 2026-2027 season marks forty years since Jean Genet's death and eighty years since the creation of Les Bonnes by Louis Jouvet at the Théâtre de l'Athénée.

Text: Jean Genet • Directed by: Carme Portaceli • With the Comédie-Française troupeDramaturgy I: nes Boza • Set design: Paco Azorín • Costumes: Silvia Delagneau • Lighting: David Picazo • Original music and sound: Jordi Collet • Choreography: Ferran Carvajal • Assistant director: Ruth Orth