The maids are two sisters, Claire and Solange. They rehearse the murder of their mistress in a ritual in which the younger plays Madame, adorning herself in her gowns, while the elder plays the maid. Having succeeded in having Monsieur arrested, they are now plotting to poison their mistress.
Genet was clear that he had not written a plea on behalf of domestic servants. He nevertheless constructs a sharp critique of twentieth-century bourgeois society, and pays particular attention to the eloquence of those who are ordinarily denied a voice.
A distinguished director on the European stage and Artistic Director of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, Carme Portaceli has devoted much of her work to great female figures, from Emma Bovary to Anna Karenina and Mary Magdalene. With Les Bonnes, she turns her attention to the class fracture at the heart of this trio of young women — the maids' hatred set against the mistress's condescension. She also draws out the contemporary resonances of this ceremony of vengeance at a time when social media shapes and distorts the image we hold of ourselves and project to others. A play of mirrors amplifies the tension between desire and cruelty, and the blurring of dream and reality.
The 2026–2027 season marks the fortieth anniversary of Jean Genet's death and the eightieth anniversary of the world premiere of Les Bonnes, directed by Louis Jouvet at the Théâtre de l'Athénée. It is in this historic Parisian venue that the company presents a play that has become a classic of the modern repertoire.