Van Burek John - Les belles-soeurs

A Play
by Michel Tremblay Translated by John Van Burek
& Bill Glassco Talonbooks Les Belles Soeurs was first performed at Thatre du Rideau-Vert in Montral, Quebec on August 28, 1968, with the following cast: GERMAINE LAUZON Denise Proulx LINDA LAUZON Odette Gagnon ROSE OUIMET Denise Filiathrault GABRIELLE JODOIN Lucille Blair LISETTE DE COURVAL Hlne Loiselle MARIE-ANGE BROUILLETTE Marthe Choquette YVETTE LONGPR Sylvie Heppel DES-NEIGES VERRETTE Denise de Jagure THRSE DUBUC Germaine Giroux OLIVINE DUBUC Nicole LeBlanc ANGLINE SAUV Anne-Marie Ducharme RHAUNA BIBEAU Germaine Lemyre LISE PAQUETTE Rita Lafontaine GINETTE MNARD Jose Beauregard PIERRETTE GURIN Luce Guilbeault Directed and designed by Andr Brassard Les Belles Soeurs was first performed in English at the St. Lawrence Centre in Toronto, Ontario, on April 3, 1973, with the following cast: GERMAINE LAUZON Candy Kane LINDA LAUZON Elva-May Hoover ROSE OUIMET Monique Mercure GABRIELLE JODOIN Araby Lockhart LISETTE DE COURVAL Mia Anderson MARIE-ANGE BROUILLETTE Deborah Packer YVETTE LONGPR Louise Nichol DES-NEIGES VERRETTE Maureen Fitzgerald THRSE DUBUC Irene Hogan OLIVINE DUBUC Lilian Lewis ANGLINE SAUV Patricia Hamilton RHAUNA BIBEAU Nancy Kerr LISE PAQUETTE Trudy Young GINETTE MNARD Suzette Couture PIERRETTE GURIN Melanie Morse Directed and designed by Andr Brassard This revised English translation of Les Belles Soeurs was first performed at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, on June 1, 1991, with the following cast: GERMAINE LAUZON Susan Wright LINDA LAUZON Shannon Lawson ROSE OUIMET Barbara Bryne GABRIELLE JODOIN Anne Wright LISETTE DE COURVAL Patricia Collins MARIE-ANGE BROUILLETTE Michelle Fisk YVETTE LONGPR Mary Hitch Blendick DES-NEIGES VERRETTE Pat Galloway THRSE DUBUC Nancy Beatty OLIVINE DUBUC Sidonie Boll ANGLINE SAUV Kate Reid RHAUNA BIBEAU Janet Wright LISE PAQUETTE Julia Winder GINETTE MNARD Ann Baggley PIERRETTE GURIN Goldie Semple Directed by Martie Maraden All available from Talonbooks Albertine in Five Times Assorted Candies for the Theatre Bonbons Assortis / Assorted Candies The Driving Force Past Perfect Impromptu on Nuns Island For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again Forever Yours, Marie-Lou Marcel Pursued By the Hounds Hosanna La Maison Suspendue The Real World? Bonjour, L, Bonjour Albertine in Five Times (earlier edition) Remember Me The Impromptu of Outremont Damne Manon, Sacre Sandra Sainte-Carmen of the Main La Duchesse de Langeais and Other Plays En Pices Dtaches Crossing the Continent The Blue Notebook The Red Notebook The Black Notebook Some Night My Prince Will Come News From Edouard The Heart Laid Bare The Duchess and the Commoner A Thing of Beauty The First Quarter of the Moon Threse and Pierette and the Little Hanging Angel The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant Birth of a Bookworm Twelve Opening Acts Bambi and Me Thank you for reading and purchasing Les Belles Soeurs. If you came across this e-book by some other means, feel free to purchase it and support our hard work. It is available through most major online e-book retailers and on our website. The print edition is also available. Talonbooks is a small, independent, Canadian book publishing company.

We have been publishing works of the highest literary merit since the 1960s. With nearly 500 books in print, we offer drama, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction by local playwrights, poets, and authors from the mainstream and margins of Canadas three founding nations, as well as both visible and invisible minorities within Canadas cultural mosaic. Learn more about us, or learn more about the poet, Michel Tremblay. Copyright 1972 Lemac Editeur Translation copyright 1992 John Van Burek and Bill Glassco Published with the assistance of the Canada Council. Talonbooks
P.O. Box 2076, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 3S3
www.talonbooks.com
Ninth Revised Printing: February 2009 No part of this book, covered by the copyright hereon, may be reproduced or used in any form or by any meansgraphic, electronic or mechanicalwithout prior permission of the publisher, except for excerpts in a review.

Any request for photocopying of any part of this book shall be directed in writing to Access Copyright (The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency) , 1 Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1E5; Tel.: (416) 868-1620; Fax: (416) 868-1621; accesscopyright.ca. Rights to produce Les Belles Soeurs, in whole or in part, in any medium by any group, amateur or professional, are retained by the author. Interested persons are requested to apply to his agent: John C. Goodwin and Associates, 839 Sherbrooke est, Suite 2, Montral, Qubec H2L 1K6; Tel.: (514) 598-5252; www.agencegoodwin.com. Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada ISBN: 978-0-88922-809-2

GERMAINE LAUZON LINDA LAUZON, Germaines daughter ROSE OUIMET, Germaines sister GABRIELLE JODOIN, another sister LISETTE DE COURVAL, neighbour MARIE-ANGE BROUILLETTE, neighbour YVETTE LONGPR , neighbour DES-NEIGES VERRETTE, neighbour THRSE DUBUC, Germaines sister-in-law OLIVINE DUBUC, Thrses mother-in-law ANGLINE SAUV, neighbour RHAUNA BIBEAU, neighbour LISE PAQUETTE, Lindas friend GINETTE MENARD, Lindas friend PIERRETTE GURIN, Germaines youngest sister The kitchen of a Montreal tenement, 1965. LINDA LAUZON enters. LINDA LAUZON enters.

She sees four boxes in the middle of the kitchen. LINDA: God, whats that? Ma! GERMAINE: ( offstage ) Is that you, Linda? LINDA: Yeah! What are all these boxes in the kitchen? GERMAINE: ( offstage ) Theyre my stamps. LINDA: Already? Jeez, that was fast. GERMAINE LAUZON enters. GERMAINE: Yeah, it surprised me, too. They came this morning right after you left.

The doorbell rang. I went to answer it and theres this big fellow standing there. Oh, youd have liked him, Linda. Just your type. About twenty-two, twenty-three, dark curly hair. Nice little moustache.

Real handsome. Anyway, he says to me, Are you the lady of the house, Mme Germaine Lauzon? I said, Yes thats me. And he says, Good, Ive brought your stamps. Linda, I was so excited. I didnt know what to say. Next thing I knew, two guys are bringing in the boxes and the other ones giving me this speech.

Linda, what a talker. And such manners. Im sure you would have liked him. LINDA: So, what did he say? GERMAINE: I cant remember. I was so excited. He told me the company he works for was real happy Id won the million stamps.

That I was real lucky Me, I was speechless. I wish your father had been here, he could have talked to him. I dont even know if I thanked him. LINDA: Thats a lot of stamps to glue. Four boxes! One million stamps, thats no joke! GERMAINE: Theres only three boxes. The other ones booklets.

But I had an idea, Linda. Were not gonna do all this alone! You going out tonight? LINDA: Yeah, Roberts supposed to call me GERMAINE: You cant put it off til tomorrow? Listen, I had an idea. I phoned my sisters, your fathers sister, and I went to see the neighbours. And Ive invited them all to come and paste stamps with us tonight. Im gonna give a stamp-pasting party. Isnt that a great idea? I bought some peanuts, and your little brother went out to get some Coke LINDA: Ma, you know I always go out on Thursdays! Its our night out.

Were gonna go to a show. GERMAINE: You cant leave me alone on a night like this. Ive got fifteen people coming LINDA: Are you crazy! Youll never get fifteen people in this kitchen! And you cant use the rest of the house. The painters are here. Jesus, Ma! Sometimes youre really dumb. GERMAINE: Sure, thats right, put me down.