Les Règles du savoir-vivre dans la société moderne

A monologue written by Lagarce in 1994, Les règles du savoir-vivre dans la société moderne is an ironic, funny and rhythmic text, inspired by a manual of good manners by Baroness Staffe (1889).

La compagnie La Bouleversante shares the text between two women who have devised home lectures with the aim of passing on these rules, essential in their eyes to the smooth running of our society.

"It's only a question of following the rules and applying the principles to get by", as they don't want "to be overwhelmed by the incidental trivialities that are feelings". But will they succeed?

"Being born isn't complicated. Dying is very easy. Living between these two events is not necessarily impossible. (...) It's a question of knowing and learning, from the already mundane moment of one's birth, to hold one's rank and respect the codes that govern existence. Finally, it's about controlling one's sorrows, weeping in necessary and relative quantities, judging the importance of one's grief and always, in life's most difficult moments, assessing the fair share one gives them." Jean-Luc Lagarce