A pig in a poke

The Theatre of the Canton of Zurich is performing at the Rigiblick Theatre.

‘He really gets on my nerves with all that stammering. And then Dad went and told me I should make a good impression and always count to three before I say a word.’
From ‘The Cat in the Bag’

We’ve all been there: you order something – and end up with something completely different! In ‘The Cat in the Bag’, a classic of French drama, this is precisely the starting point for a fast-paced comedy of mistaken identity.

Monsieur Pacarel, a wealthy businessman, hopes to achieve glory and fame as a patron of the arts. He wants to bring the young tenor Dujeton, who is the talk of the town, to the local opera house and asks his friend Dufausset for help. As luck would have it, Dufausset is sending his son to Paris to study law and wishes to entrust him to Pacarel’s care. Monsieur Pacarel, who only sees what he wants to see, mistakes the handsome-looking student for the tenor. By the time Pacarel begins to harbour his first doubts about the young man’s singing talent, it is already too late. A trivial misunderstanding, a little white lie and an obsession plunge the characters in this turbulent farce – centred on romantic entanglements and mistaken identities – into a whirlwind of mishaps and embarrassments.