A night in a French castle
Four German soldiers will march into Darlinghurst Theatre in January for the production of Mademoiselle Fifi. The troops are occupying a French castle in 1870.
The French have run away, so there’s nothing else to do except get drunk, play stupid games, blow things up and invite some local hookers.
This livens things up, as you can imagine, and they have a wild, sexy party. Only problem is one of the Germans is a proto-fascist and a French-hater, a Jew-hater and a fierce German nationalist, said director Jo Turner.
He gets rejected by the women, gets more and more drunk and eventually starts spouting hideous fascist rhetoric. One of the prostitutes, it turns out, is also a Jewess. She grabs a butter knife and stabs him in the throat.
A strong anti-fascist theme gives shape to the script but most of the production is light-hearted, funny and sexy.
That’s the way I like it. I don’t like messages that smack you over the head, but without the message Fifi might be just a bit of fluff and I want it to be more than that, Turner said.
There are little Hitlers everywhere, lurking in the shadows, hoping to be let off their leash and we mustn’t let them.
info: Mademoiselle Fifi starts on Saturday 3 January. Tickets from $25. Bookings on www.darlinghursttheatre.com or 8356 9987.
