The garden side of the stage

Meaning

Phrase.

The phrase is a fixed French theatrical designation for the audience’s left, the performer’s right, rather than a literal garden on the set. Marat’s bust stands on that side near the frame enclosing the stage. The physical position permits a spectator to topple it from his box. The English retains “garden” in quotation marks, leaving the stage convention to explanation rather than substituting the potentially confusing English phrase “stage left.”