English translations of five plays written by a mid-20th century French playwright of some note. Long expository speeches characterize many plays of this period, and these are no exception. Sexual antics abound; in fact, most of these plays are about sexual mix-ups, decaying marriages, or other major or trivial relationship problems (the main exception is The Lark, which is about Jeanne d'Arc). These plays throw a chink in the idea that the French have affairs without any problem, it is the norm, and spouses don't really care that much. In fact, while affairs are frequent here, the attitude is somewhat less casual and dismissive. In fact, the tone of these works is similar to the English drawing room comedy, where class consciousness and propriety were major concerns for the characters, while those in the working class looked on with bemusement at the antics of their "betters". Overall an interesting look at recent theatre history. ( )