Trois Ruptures/Three Splits, The Print Room

A bi-national team of three bring this new black comedy about the disintegration of relationships to Notting Hill's Print Room Theatre for one week only after a sellout debut run at Chelsea Theatre.
Director Marianne Badrichani is an expert at scouring her native French theatre scene and bringing the best new shows to London audiences. She is joined by French actress Edith Vernes. Already an established stage and screen star on the continent, Vernes built a buzz in the UK when her performance of Discours sur le bonheur by Madame du Châtelet was a sellout triumph at Kensington's French Institute. 
Literary Manager of the Royal Court Theatre Chris Campbell joined the project as translator and ruefully jokes that he was coerced into playing the male lead ("I tried to say no four times!"). This a return to the stage for the dramaturge, whose successful acting career has been somewhat sidelined by the role of discovering and supporting new plays, along with translating for theatres including the National, Donmar and Young Vic. But, Trois Ruptures is also a professional first for the bilingual Brit: it's the first time Campell has performed in French.
French theatre in London
To preserve the rhythms and nuances of the humour, this production will stick to the French script. This an exciting creative decision, which at once offers a rare theatrical experience for the French community in London, and the chance for those Londoners who are far from fluent in French to experience the cadences and authentic atmosphere of Remi De Vos's language with the safety-net of Chris Campbell's English translation played simultaneously on surtitles.
A tale of three break-ups
Trois Ruptures was chosen from a selection of over 100 French scripts for its capacity to appeal to English audiences. And indeed this murkily funny 'unhappily ever after' story of three couples, each on the cusp of splitting, interacts with the British taste for comedy. Translator/actor Chris Campbell explains "there is something about this play, something about the tone of it that will sit very well in an English context. Almost all British plays are black comedy, that's what we do." And, through exposing the humour and pain in romantic failure, the play resonates with anyone who's ever been through a break-up.