Les Ratés

play by Lenormand

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June 17, 2026

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Les Ratés (1920), meaning "The Failures," is a play by French dramatist Henri-René Lenormand. The play explores subconscious motivation and the tragedy of human destiny. It follows the physical and moral disintegration of a playwright and his mistress, an actress, who ultimately commit murder and suicide under duress. Lenormand often used abnormal characters and symbolic stagecraft to depict inner psychological conflicts.1

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Henri-René Lenormand
His best-known play, Les Ratés (1920; “The Failures”), traces the physical and moral disintegration of a playwright and his mistress, a mediocre actress, who, under the pressure of adversity, end their lives in murder and suicide. To elucidate the conflicts of the human psyche, Lenormand often chose abnormal…
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His best-known play, Les Ratés (1920; “The Failures”), traces the physical and moral disintegration of a playwright and his mistress, a mediocre actress, who, under the pressure of adversity, end their lives in murder and suicide. To elucidate the conflicts of the human psyche, Lenormand often chose abnormal…
Read More