A Lesson in Savoir-Vivre [Une leçon de savoir-vivre]

Written in the form of a mock conference and performed by Pierre Arditi as a staged reading at the Theatre du Rond Point, Paris. Jean-Claude Grumberg turns on its head the anti-Jewish prejudice of two books that were banned from re-publication for their blatant anti-Semitic content. The first book, by Dr. Celtius, dates from the early 20th century; the second, written by George Montandon in 1940, was published after the Vichy government passed anti-Jewish legislation in France. The purpose of these books was to help people recognize Jews and denounce them. Grumberg sarcastically proposes a useful manual for identification. With bitter irony he asks: After all, how do we know which racist jokes we can use if we don’t know the ethnicity of the person we’re talking to? And unlike the Blacks, Arabs, or Chinese, Jews are not so easy to recognize.

Format: Staged reading

Cast Size: 1 character

Original or Prominent Production:
Text and direction by Jean-Claude Grumberg; (France): Théâtre du Rond-Point (Jean-Michel Ribes), 01-10-2003.

Original Language: French

Publisher:

“Mon père, inventaire; suivi de Une leçon de savoir-vivre”; Paris: Éd. du Seuil, DL 2010.

Experience(s) Chronicled: Allegoric or Metaphoric Representations | Perpetrators, Bystanders and Collaborators | Reactions to the Holocaust | Deniers and Denial