In 2004, in response to the need to revise oral practice and assessment in the second semester of Beginners French at Monash University, an eight-week group-based theatre project was developed and trialled. A specially adapted version of Tardieu's absurdist play "Le Guichet" was used to give students the opportunity to focus on oral production, particularly the sounds, rhythms, and gestures of the language. Each week students were provided with a page of script which they worked on for 30 minutes in class. Memorisation and final rehearsals took place outside the class. The script enabled students to concentrate on meaningful error-free communication without losing momentum and naturalness in the struggle for grammatical accuracy. The play's humour, short length, and accessibility, together with tutor and peer-group support, enabled students to perform the ten-minute production to a generally high standard and with clear benefit to their oral production skills, self-confidence, and self-esteem. (Contains 2 tables.)