Amanda Lear returned to the dramatic stage at 84

The Free Theater (Libre) was founded by director Andre Antoine at the end of the 19th century. Once upon a time, Leo Tolstoy’s “The Power of Darkness” was staged there. It was the first non-profit theater in Europe. It’s funny that in 1893, for one of his programs, Toulouse-Lautrec painted a blond woman with a hairdresser standing behind her and doing her hair. There is approximately the same mise-en-scène in the play “Old Woman’s Money,” where Amanda Lear’s hair is being styled by a maid.

Amanda Lear chose Rodolfo Sonego’s play herself. This is an outstanding master of comedy, who worked not only in the theater, but also in cinema with representatives of neorealism. He wrote the scripts for Rome at the 11th O’clock by Giuseppe De Santis, Villa Borghese, directed by Vittorio De Sica and Gianni Franciolini, Taxi Driver New York and I Know You Know I Know by Alberto Sordi , “The Mistress’s Wife” by Marco Vicario starring Marcello Mastroianni.

Only at first glance it may seem that the play is simple and uncomplicated and playing it will not be difficult. In fact, it takes skill to perform it with brilliance, fun and ease. The audience laughs for an hour and a half that the performance is going on. Basically, this is a generation close in age to the leading actress, who knows her songs well.

In 1972, the film “Playing Cards Scientifically” was released, directed by Luigi Comencini and written by Rodolfo Sonego. The plot, with minor changes, is repeated in the play. Every year on a certain day, an Italian couple – Peppino and Antonia – await a visit from a rich American old woman. For them, this is a chance to get easy money. They play cards with the millionaire. She lends them money. At the same time, the old woman never loses. In the film, she was played by the winner of two Oscars, Bette Davis, and the married couple was played by Alberto Sordi and Silvana Mangano. Such games are like the elixir of youth for a millionaire. Every year she rents a villa with a park to place bets and get a boost of energy.

The play was staged by 78-year-old Raymond Acquaviva, known as a film actor who played in the films “The Corsican”, “The Trial at Bobigny”, and the mini-series “Napoleon and Josephine, or the Power of Desires”. His performance will run for a total of three months, and then will disappear from the posters forever.

The play was adapted by specially invited authors. The dialogues were refreshed and filled with a modern sound. Amanda Lear, for example, talks about TikTok and talks on her cell phone. It seems that she is partly playing herself – the same independent and free woman, an eccentric, in fact, who is not afraid of the number of years she has lived. Lear fearlessly calls himself an ageless old woman with one foot in the grave. At the same time, he continues to live in a way that young people never dreamed of. Amanda Lear told in an interview how she broke up with her Italian lover

The play takes place in a respectable Parisian house, where the millionaire has settled. On the stage there is a completely bourgeois living room and a small area of ​​the adjacent garden. Queen of Spades puts on a grand show, putting her fortune on the line. She sits down at a card table with people of a completely different background and income, and plays trick-or-treating with them for money. The spouses here are called Maurice and Pierrette, and they are played by Atmen Kelif (The Tempest by Christian Duguay) and Marie Parouti (Coco before Chanel by Anne Fontaine).

Their daughter Anastasia works as a servant for a millionaire, and she demonstratively cannot remember the girl’s name (played by Jeanne Perrin). This is also a kind of game. Only in the finale will Amanda Lear’s heroine name her correctly. The name of the millionaire herself is unknown. No one addresses her by name. And always nearby is the faithful and elegant George, played by Olivier Pages, who starred with Alexander Kott in the film “Spitak” about the 1988 earthquake in Armenia.

At the beginning of the play, Amanda Lear appears suddenly from behind a curtain in a wheelchair. There is a suspicion that the actress herself is experiencing difficulties in moving. Still, she is of serious age. But these are just the whims of an extravagant heroine. She only pretends to be weak. As soon as the maid leaves the room, the millionaire immediately jumps up and moves around perfectly, showing off her slender legs.

Amanda Lear has a great sense of the text, its humor, juggles phrases, and is full of energy. She’s the queen here. Changes her clothes several times, sparkles with jewelry. She still has the same low, almost masculine, hoarse voice. She constantly jokes about this, recalling how some gentlemen showed interest in her just to make sure whether she was a woman or a man. No one knows exactly how old Amanda Lear is, where she was born – in Vietnam or in Hong Kong. The actress loves to create fog and create hoaxes. According to different sources, her date of birth varies from 1939 to 1948.

There is a lot of blood mixed in it. Her father is of English-French descent. He was a military man. Mom, according to some reports, was the daughter of a Russian officer and a Chinese woman. Amanda spent her early years in the south of France and Switzerland. At the age of 16 she went to Paris, where she earned money by painting and dancing. And then she entered St. Martin’s School of Art in London and made a brilliant career. In 1979, Amanda married a French aristocrat and lived with him for more than 20 years until he died in a fire in their house.

Her debut on the dramatic stage took place in 20009. There have been similar proposals before, which were rejected due to busyness. In 2013, Lear played a character in the play Divina who returns to television to host a news program. Then she appeared in suits from Jean-Paul Gaultier, in particular, in purple trousers. And now Lear comes out in purple trousers, which suit her very well. She also played in the plays Panic at the Ministry and Lady Oscar.

Her own biography gives her piquancy and attracts viewers. Amanda Lear was Salvador Dali’s muse, lived in his house, took art lessons, and then wrote memoirs about him. One of her exhibitions was held at the museum named after him in Bruges. Lear lived with musician David Bowie for a year. Thanks to this meeting, she became serious about her music career and released her first album. Amanda Lear hosted entertainment programs on Italian television for several years, was the star of advertising campaigns for Paco Rabanne, and participated in the fashion show of Jean-Paul Gaultier. “I’m kind of a fossil,” she said in an interview. “I met Warhol, Bowie, Liz Taylor and I’m still here.”

On May 1, 2017, she announced her retirement after touring with the play “The Candidate” and laughed at her colleagues who, having announced that they were leaving the stage, continued to perform for decades. Now Amanda Lear herself has broken her vow. Apparently, she was bored with the company of cats, and the production of olive oil was clearly not enough for her creative nature.