The One That Got Away

Originally entitled Monsieur Chasse!, this is a fine example of one of Feydeau’s manic bedroom farces. Leontine’s husband is away – again – on one of his frequent fishing trips but his best friend is determined to seize the opportunity to proposition the reluctant angling widow. Her resistance crumbles when she discovers that trout and lobsters – the last catch he bought home – are rarely found in the same stretch of water, with the result that husband, his catch (not piscine), wife, would-be lover plus an amorous nephew and an ex-countess who was married to a circus strongman all arrive at an apartment where they should never, ever, meet.

There are mistaken identities, doors (of course) a closet, a double bed, men in underwear and a police chase. What more could you want? It all comes out right in the end, though. Phew!