The Puritans © David Noir
Les Puritains was created on June 6, 1998, Wilson room at the TGP of St Denis (dir. Stanislas Nordey) by the company La Vie Est Courte. It was then performed in its long and then short version in the Paris region until the autumn of 2000.

In Dublin fair city,where the girls are so pretty,I first set my eyesto sweet Molly Malone... Alive alive oh oh!

Les Puritains | Poster | Photo © Karine Lhémon | Graphic design © Philippe Savoir | From left to right: Jean-Hugues Laleu, Jérôme Coulomb, Stéphane Desvignes, Pierre Viguié, Philippe Savoir, Miguel-Ange Sarmiento, Sonia Codhant, Jean-François Rey, Jacques Meystre, David Noir. On the floor: Jean-Pierre Dufranc
Les Puritains | Poster | Photo © Karine Lhémon | Graphic design © Philippe Savoir | From left to right: Jean-Hugues Laleu, Jérôme Coulomb, Stéphane Desvignes, Pierre Viguié, Philippe Savoir, Miguel-Ange Sarmiento, Sonia Codhant, Jean-François Rey, Jacques Meystre, David Noir. On the floor: Jean-Pierre Dufranc
The Innocents © David Noir

"Les Puritains" is the mythology of adult sexuality, our frustrations, our repressions, the variety song and its naive procession of breezy ideals, the infinite simplicity of our naked bodies that we never stop tracking in the corners of mirrors.

BETTY: Sonia Codhant

ADRIEN: Stéphane Desvignes

FIRST: Jean-Hugues Laleu

SECOND: Jacques Meystre

HARVEY: David Black

SLAVE: Jean-François Rey

JOHN: Miguel-Ange Sarmiento

LÉA: Philippe Savoir

BERTA: Pierre Viguié

Design and direction: David Noir

Original music and piano: Jérôme Coulomb

(except the song "Moi" arranged from a melody proposed by David Noir)

Original poster: Philipe Savoir

Pictures: Karine Lhémon

THE PURITANTS / Course

June 98: 1st reading in the Wilson room > TGP de Saint Denis

September/October 98: 3 performances > TGP de Saint Denis

February/April 99 : 3 performances > Théâtre des 50 in Paris

May 99: 1st performance at the Théâtre 95 in Cergy as part of the "Nouvelles Écritures Scéniques" ("New Scriptures").

September/December 99: 11 performances > Théâtre des 50 in Paris

February 2000 : 3 performances at the Théâtre 95 in Cergy (with the support of THECIF)

March/April 2000 : 15 performances > at the Lavoir Moderne Parisien

From 21 June to 30 September 2000 > Takeover at the Lavoir Moderne Parisien

THE PURITANTS

Out of Love or Out of Pity | The Puritans | David Noir | Photo © Karine Lhémon
The Puritans | Out of Love or Pity | Photo © Karine Lhémon

Breathe, kid, breathe into me. Bring me in with your little fingers. Chickie, chickie, my child, my heart, my pussy, yes, touch me here, that's it, like this. Don't stop; caress Daddy a little. Do it faster; love your parents. Make them happy.

That's good, are you happy? Sleep now, my child, my heart, my pussy, my fairy-fingered lover, how soft your little hands are!

Here, calm down. Mom, Dad, repeat again while you fall asleep, Dad, Mom, repeat again while you fall asleep, Mom, Dad, Dad, Mom, Mom, repeat again while you fall asleep, Dad, Mom, Mom, Dad...  Family.

I :INTRO The décor consists of acrylic pile carpets superimposed on foam blocks, in the middle of which a couch sits enthroned. A girl is standing, masked by a wolf. She is dressed in panties and a bra. A silver disc with two slits in it shows her sex on her underpants. The tips of her bra also have silver markings. Her body is also shimmering with silver in places. Between a clown in make-up and costume; he gives his ticket to Slav and fucks Betty on the carpet. She seems to enjoy and suffer at the same time. As a thank-you, she pulls out two hairs sticking out of his underwear and gives them to him.

PROLOGUE:

Audience entrance on a circus polka. Harvey already there. Comedians' entrance on " La Piscine " by The Little Rabbits. Costumes, attaché cases. Conference table crossing the width of the stage. Two microphones on stand at the ends. Front layout. Bottle opening, chip packs, handshakes, service. 

The text is kept on hand and read by the protagonists throughout the play. The read out instructions are integrated into the text. The titles are projected on the wall. The music is sent by Harvey from an MD player.

The transvestite characters (Léa and Berta) are dressed like other men in suits and ties. Only Berta wears a woman's wig that he will take out at the beginning of the show from his attaché case along with his chopper and his bottle of Bordeaux.

The Puritans © David Noir

The book

Paperback: 120 pages Publisher: Lulu.com (2009)
amazon.co.uk

the eBook

Publisher: Lulu.com (2009)
The Puritans © David Noir
Les Puritains | "L'amour en scène" © David Noir d'après photos © Karine Lhémon
The Puritans | "L'amour en scène" © David Noir from photos © Karine Lhémon