Recorded at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint Martin, Paris

Adapted from the novel by Lidye Salvayre, La compagnie des spectres is the poignant monologue that Louisiane, a young woman in her forties, gives to the bailiff who has come to seize the few pieces of furniture she and her mother own.

Her own monologue incorporates the words of her mother, Rose, whose life was somehow frozen in 1943, during the Occupation, when her brother was tortured by two militiamen.

The play turns out to be one of the most successful huis clos in which Zabou manages to make us feel the terror and humiliation of the Vichy regime without ever tipping over into pathos. With sharpness and talent, she embodies all the characters in the novel on stage and entertains us with an unlikely gallery of supporting characters.

Funny and moving.