Pour un oui ou pour un non

How can unspoken words and ambiguous sounds lead to misunderstanding and ruin a friendship? This comedy by Nathalie Sarraute, one of France’s most important authors of the late 20th century, puts the power of words front and center in a web of incomparable talent. Two friends meet again after an unexplained separation and ponder the reason for it, only to discover that it was the space between the words spoken and, above all, the ambiguity of the intonation that deformed their attempts at communication. This is the central theme of Pour un oui ou pour un non, translated for the 1985 English-language adaptation into For No Good Reason. Taking on the complex prose of Sarraute are two expert wordsmiths, Franco Branciaroli and Umberto Orsini, led in this brutal free-for-all by Pier Luigi Pizzi, a true master of the stage.