The Screens
Screens, The (Les Paravents) Author: Jean Genet
First Performance: 1961, Berlin; 1966, Paris
Published: 1961; rev. 1976
First English Translation: 1963
Genre: Drama in 17 scenes; French prose
Setting: Algeria, 1954–61
Cast: 76m, 21f, extras
Saïd is an Arab so poor that he can afford only Leila, a wife so ugly that her face has to be covered by a hood. He visits the whorehouse, while she expresses her longings to a pair of trousers. To escape the drudgery of working for his colonial boss and the mockery of his fellow workers over his ugly wife, Saïd plans to go to mainland France. He steals money and is arrested. Appearing before an eccentric Cadi, Saïd fails to persuade the judge that he should be imprisoned. Leila too is caught stealing from other houses. Saïd's fellow workers...
[The entire page is 350 words long]
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