When revered French filmmaker Arianne Mnouchkine founded her theater in 1970 in a disused munitions factory outside Paris, she vowed to turn the space into a theater. “Laboratory of popular theater”. More than half a century later, she remains true to her word. This month, Mnouchkain handed over the keys to host her new festival to five startups for free. Insendi Provinceor “Starting Fires”.
The idea came from 28-year-old theater director Annabel Zhoubian. In an interview, Zoubian said the pandemic and rising touring costs have made it difficult for early-career artists to stage ambitious stages. So in 2021, she reached out to Mnouchkain and asked if she would host an event dedicated to young theater companies.
Before the festival’s opening performance last weekend, Zhoubian said he instantly said yes and was a little stunned. “That’s exactly what we needed, because someone would trust us to learn,” she said.
Starting Fires, which runs until July 2, has taken over the rehearsal hall of Mnouchkin’s Théâtre du Soleil, which regularly hosts performances. The five groups he participated in broke away from the egalitarian model of that ensemble. When not performing, the artists take turns staffing the box office and bar.
There was no shortage of talent on stage. All three of her productions that I saw boasted large casts of up to 15 performers. This is unusual for a start-up given the cost involved. They swung big and sometimes fumbled, but overall, their hard work paid off with exciting results.
The future is bright for Sebastian Kelfi, who directed for the first time. Sophocles’ Ancient Antigone with a personal touch. According to the flyer, his starting point was his own torn family history. His father left Algeria after Algeria’s bloody war of independence, but suffered hardships in France.
As a result, Kerofi’s “Antigone” is filled with silent pain. Set against a melancholy backdrop of wells and fallen trees, it takes seriously the interplay between moral principles and family trauma in Sophocles’ play, but only a few scenes lose momentum. The rift between Antigone and his sister Ismene, who wants to bury his brother against the orders of the Theban leader Creon, is more balanced than usual. The brooding and capable Louisa Chas makes it clear that Ismene is already suffering too much to revolt.
In 2021, still a theater student, Keroufi played a leading role in the takeover of the Colline Theater in Paris in protest against the closure of theaters across France. Here he also proved that he has a knack for manipulating a diverse group of actors. “Antigone” features experienced artists like François Clavier, who makes self-indulgent Cleons, and a chorus of four amateur women with exile experience. Kelfi met these women while working at the emergency shelter, and in one scene, each cursed Cleon in a different language with a surprising degree of gravity.
Another director, Zoubian, chose to work on classic dramas. Anton Chekhov’s first four-act play PlatonovTo avoid provincial ennui in Russia, the characters drinking and partying around Platonov, the local Casanova, have a chaotic energy that is particularly suited to young actors. increase.
The Zoobian cast took some time to get used to the marathon, which was well over three hours, and had some technical mishaps. For example, Chekhov’s proverbial gun did not fire in the final scene. But thanks to Leo Nivet (the charismatic, wide-eyed Sergei) and Romane Bonardin (who trusts Platonov’s betrayal wife, Sasha, and is heartbroken), the production finally took off.
Starting Fires moved to a corner of an outdoor parking lot for one production. The Macabre Carnival inspired by the Tupamaros, a far-left revolutionary movement active in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. For the show, which premiered in 2021, 15 leading theater companies Théâtre de l’Idol conducted significant research in the country, featuring artists born in the country, Chile, France and Peru.
Mnouchkain herself is an epic narrator of historical events and is named as a source of inspiration many times in the script, and her influence was evident throughout. Using only a few wheeled pedestals and chalkboard drawings, the cast frantically paints the main characters and political backgrounds. Director Stéphane Bensimon is adept at finding creative transitions, and many of the cast’s talents – music, dance and even acrobatics – are used at just the right times to enhance the group’s scenes. increase.
Despite a few cars humming in the background, ‘Macabre Carnival’ was utterly mesmerizing and had a utopian feel that defined the atmosphere of the festival. While many young French theater companies are leaving Paris and bringing theater to the countryside, Starting Fires is welcomed as a new showcase. It deserves a permanent spot on the summer festival calendar.
Incendi Festival Division
Until July 2nd at La Carte Sully in Paris. festival-department store-d-incendies.com.
