Eugène-Marin Labiche was one of the top comic playwrights of the 19th century. He wrote more than 175 farces, most of them focusing on the bourgeios class. Although full of dramatic devices, Labiche’s plays provided true insight into human nature and raised the genre to a new level. The best of his works include Le Chapeau de paille d’Italie (1851; The Italian Straw Hat); Le Misanthrope et l’Auvergnat (1852); Le Voyage de M. Perrichon (1860; The Journey of Mr. Perrichon); and La Poudre aux yeux (1861; “The Bluff”), which is now presented at the Kammerspiele in Tobias Haberkorn’s new translation.
Courtesy of Julian Baumann.