Sacha Guitry - Manuscrit autographe - Discours avant le lever du rideau - 1945

Autograph manuscript by Sacha Guitry, famous French playwright, actor and director. The manuscript is undated and unsigned.

Written in blue ink and pencil on a vertically and horizontally folded sheet, in large folio format, with numerous edits, corrections and additions by the author himself.

In this manuscript, Sacha Guitry sketches a witty address intended for the audience before the start of one of his comedies. He humorously justifies his refusal to summarize its plot, claiming that he himself did not know the ending while he was writing the first lines, and concludes with a witticism about plays being “hermetic.”

« The comedy that is about to be performed in a moment
I do not see anything exactly more difficult to tell than that one – not only because I myself did not know its ending when I was writing the first lines, but also because I attribute its happy fate to the unpredictability of its subject – and it would seem absurd to lament it three minutes before the curtain rises. The people in the room tonight have trusted me so far since they have kept their seats in advance - and how disappointing it would be to see them suddenly stand up and go back home because the premise of the play did not seem enticing to them! And moreover – let’s be honest – I find it difficult to tell you good things about this play – and I don’t see myself telling you bad things either!
Moreover, this comedy does not need to be explained. It has nothing that is hermetic because I do not have a taste for what is hermetic – recalling that one can be hermetic and not contain anything, and never forgetting that “hermetic” also means “sealed”! »

Dimensions: 16 x 22 cm
Condition: Good condition, with occasional light stains on the margins and slightly yellowed paper. See photos for more details.
Number of pages: 3 pages

Careful shipping in a rigid and waterproof package.

- Sacha Guitry was a French actor, playwright, director, filmmaker and screenwriter born February 21, 1885 in Saint Petersburg and died July 24, 1957 in Paris. Prolific playwright, he signed one hundred twenty-four plays, many of which were major successes. Wikipedia