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The Flower Girl (Erin Quigley) agrees the world has changed, because her flowers don't last over night anymore. (Nick Pearce Photo)

When French playwright Jean Giraudoux first staged The Madwoman of Chaillot in 1945, his audience was a world turned upside down by industrialization and war. The Vietnam era, in its turn, saw the creation of a 1969 film version starring Katharine Hepburn. Given the modern furor surrounding WikiLeaks and the TSA, perhaps modern society could once again benefit from a madwoman鈥檚 odd brand of wisdom.

Director Rob McClure seems to think so. He previously directed Dalhousie鈥檚 A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream in 2008, and is enthusiastic about returning for The Madwoman of Chaillot. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a product of having come out of the war, and the horrors of having come through that time,鈥� he says of the play. Despite its grim origins, he also says the piece is 鈥淥dd, poetic鈥� so many of the characters are archetypes, they don鈥檛 have names even鈥� it鈥檚 a fairytale, really.鈥�

This whimsical quality is compounded by the fact that the cast is working with a translation of the show from its original French. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an odd poetic quality to the dialogue鈥� (but) we play the scenes for real.鈥�

So who is this titular madwoman? 鈥淚 hate money, and I hate what it does to people, and I hate greed,鈥� says Ellen Denny, the third-year acting student playing the character, by way of an introduction. 鈥淭he people in Chaillot, they call her the madwoman, but鈥� she鈥檚 probably the most sane person there.鈥�

Countess Aurelia (Ellen Denny) is distressed to learn that the world is no longer happy. (Nick Pearce Photo)

The action of the play concerns this friendly neighbourhood madwoman, Countess Aurelia, as she gathers around her the various denizens of Chaillot 鈥� a juggler, a flower girl and so on 鈥� as well as the madwomen of neighbouring towns in order to expel the greedy capitalists plotting harm to their idyllic hamlet. Of her character, Ellen says, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of fun because you get to go a little bit wild鈥� it鈥檚 been a lot of fun to work with the other madwomen and discover how each is mad in her own way instead of being a generic crazy.鈥�

For the third-year acting students performing The Madwoman of Chaillot, the play itself 鈥� part parable and part call to action -- is a challenge. Furthermore, Madwoman is being staged 鈥渋n the round鈥� 鈥� with seating on all sides of the stage, so that the performance is visible from every angle. 鈥淵ou always have your back to someone, and you need to be sure those people always understand what you鈥檙e saying,鈥� explains Ms. Denny. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all a dance, in a way.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing challenge on this stage,鈥� Mr. McClure agrees. 鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to work in the round鈥� it鈥檚 a very intimate way of working and you can鈥檛 just call on your 鈥榓ctorish鈥� skills.鈥�

That鈥檚 only the metaphorical dance of The Madwoman of Chaillot. There is also a literal dance, a Polish 鈥榤azurka鈥�. 鈥淭hat is a good workout, singing and dancing at the same time,鈥� groans Ms. Denny, who is also majoring in music. 鈥淚 wish that I could sing while I was at the treadmill at the gym, but I think people would complain.鈥澛�

Erin Quigley as The Flower Girl looks up at Josh Cruddas playing The Ragpicker. (Nick Pearce Photo)

Despite the challenges inherent in mazurkas and Shakespearean stagings, the students performing The Madwoman of Chaillot appear undaunted by their task. Small changes have also been made to tailor the show to the Dalhousie acting class 鈥� most of the capitalists are now played by women, and cast talents (including juggling and ukulele abilities) have been incorporated. Josh Cruddas, a student and local composer, even composed original music for the show. The play has also been trimmed for flow.

A theme Mr. McClure returns to again and again is the play鈥檚 timeliness, even despite its fantastic subject matter. 鈥淚f you look at our recent headlines, you have our 2008 financial meltdown鈥� even today, most of the people who created those messes survived鈥� while a lot of the people on the ground lost their homes, lost their savings... we just wanted to make sure we didn鈥檛 work in sentimentalism. We wanted to keep it as real as possible.鈥�

Perhaps audiences at The Madwoman of Chaillot will discover that a little bit of whimsy can disguise a larger truth.