Germinie Lacerteux

Five of the photographs bear captions and are signed by Réjane herself, who copied out the lines of verse from the scene depicted. This collection of photographs, a rare record of the few performances given before the play was halted on the recommendation of the censors, preserves the memory of a turbulent and precious theatrical adventure.

First performed on 23 December 1888, Germinie Lacerteux — adapted from the Goncourt brothers’ naturalist novel — received a cool reception from the public and a violent one from the critics, who turned it into a scandal. The Senate demanded the play’s suppression and reprimanded the censors who had authorized its performance. It was definitively banned on 5 February 1889. That evening, however, among the few enthusiastic supporters of the company was Marcel Proust, who came to congratulate Réjane. She would later become his model for the character of La Berma, and in 1919 lent him an apartment in her house on rue Laurent-Pichat, where he received the first proofs of Guermantes.

Sixteen years later, in 1903, the play was revived at the Théâtre du Vaudeville, again with Réjane in the title role and her faithful partner Daynes-Grassot. This time the critics were unanimous in their admiration: “for Mme Réjane alone it was worth reviving Germinie Lacerteux for a fortnight; and for Mme Daynes-Grassot alone, it was fitting to perform it for two weeks: theater lovers must have seen Mme Grassot and Mme Réjane,” wrote René Mazeroy in Gil Blas. Paul Boyer immortalized the company and this moment of renewed glory; Octave Mirbeau would celebrate this revival in the collective tribute À Réjane.

The following year, Réjane bought Lugné-Poe’s Nouveau-Théâtre, which she renamed Théâtre Réjane after extensive renovations, staging there notably Maeterlinck’s L’Oiseau bleu and reviving Madame Sans-Gêne, her signature role.

This album, presented to her “lifelong companion,” is accompanied by three contemporary press clippings praising the revival of the play and the performances of the two actresses, as well as a tribute pamphlet for Daynes-Grassot’s 88th birthday, when she took to the stage one last time in La Belle aventure.

Corners of the album worn.