Le Dindon (The Turkey) is a three-act farce by Georges Feydeau, first produced in Paris in 1896. It depicts the unsuccessful attempts of the central character – the "dindon" (roughly "the fall guy") to seduce a married woman, and the chaotic events caused by his fruitless machinations. Background and premiere By the mid-1890s Georges Feydeau had established himself as the leading writer of French farce of his generation. At a time when a run of 100 performances was regarded in Parisian theatres as a success, Feydeau had enjoyed runs of 434 for Champignol malgré lui (1892) and 371 for L'Hôtel du libre échange (1894). Both those plays had been written in collaboration with Maurice Desvallières. Le Dindon was a solo effort. The play opened at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on 8 February 1896, and ran for 238 performances. The title of the play has no exact English equivalent in the context in which Feydeau uses it. The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, in addition to the general meaning – "turkey", as in poultry – offers subsidiary definitions of "dindon": "un homme niais et infatué de lui-même … le dindon de la farce … la dupe, la victime d'une plaisanterie ou d'une intrigue" – "a silly, self-infatuated man … the turkey of the farce … the dupe, the victim of a joke or an intrigue." Original cast Source: Les Archives du spectacle. Plot Act 1 The scene is the drawing-room of the Paris residence of the Vatelins. Pontagnac, although married to a beautiful wife, is a rake who obsessively pursues women. In pursuit of the highly respectable Mme Lucienne Vatelin he intrudes into her drawing room and becomes so pressing that she calls for her husband. Vatelin recognises Pontagnac as one of his club friends; an explanation follows, and Pontagnac apologises profusely, but is still powerfully attracted to Lucienne. She tells him that he is wasting his time pursuing her: she is devoted to Vatelin and as long as he is faithful to her, she will be faithful to him. Moreover, in the unlikely event that Vatelin should ever stray, she has her own preferred candidate as partner in her revenge, a nice young man called Rédillon, whom she finds attractive, despite his red beard. Pontagnac's wife, Clotilde, holds views similar to those of her friend Lucienne: if ever she catches her husband straying, she will take her revenge with an attractive