Contagious

Anthea Fane’s solo play, Contagious, revolves around the tragic life and death of Rachel Felix (1821-1858)the homely daughter of a Jewish peddler who became an actress of the Comedie-Francaise and brought new life to French Theatre in the mid-1800s. Inspired by the novel The Tragic Muse: Rachel of the Comedie-Francaise by Rachel Brownstein, the play is a provocative fictionalization that asks: Can you invent yourself? How valid is the imaginary world? If you completely believe in something can it become real? As the Yiddish proverb asks: “If I try to be her, who will be me?” Jessica Provenz directs.