Le Malentendu was staged for the first time at the Théâtre de Mathurins in Paris on 24 August 1944, directed by Marcel Herrand, who also played the part of Jan and with Maria Casarès as Martha.[2] The performance coincided with the Liberation of Paris. The play had two short runs, neither particularly successful. It was the first of Camus' plays to be performed, although Caligula had been written two years earlier.
“The French public were ill-prepared in 1945 to appreciate such multi-faceted allegories and such philosophical implications in the absence of rational cogency and psychological realism. In a word, the play was felt to be lacking in logic. Its tragic tone, its refinement, its poetic presentation were no compensation to the audience which insisted – particularly in those days – on clarity of statement and precision of thought”.[4]
In 2012, a production of Cross Purpose, was performed in English at the King's Head Theatre, London. Produced by AM Media Productions, Jamie Birkett starred as Martha with Christina Thornton as Mother, David Lomax as Jan, Melissanthi Mahut as Maria and Leonard Fenton as the Old Man.[6] The production was revived in 2013 with Paddy Navin as Mother and Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Maria.[10]
