Et si c'étaient eux ? ・ Comédie-Française

Live broadcast from the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier! Welcome to "Et si c’étaient eux ?" ("Could they be the ones"?)

This program revolves around the destiny of three retirement homes for artists in the midst of government measures for major geriatric centres. Only one retirement home can be saved. Today, former Comédie-Française actors – Judith Siquaire, Séraphin Bouderoux, Martin Lallemand and Armand Tresson – have accepted the challenge with more or less gusto. Led by the expert hand of famous show host Alban Vauqueur, they must take part in a series of tests to prove they master their craft, or tell war stories. The goal: convince taxpayers they are the ones who must be saved.
For their first time directing the Troupe, Christophe Montenez and Jules Sagot, who both founded the collective Les Bâtards dorés in 2013, rehash some of the Comédie-Française’s history: the Pont-aux-Dames retirement home for actors, founded in 1903 by sociétaire Coquelin Ainé, who created the part of Cyrano and was the head of the Association des Artistes dramatiques et lyriques (Association for dramatic and musical artists). At the home inauguration, he said “I want to see all my old, white-haired actors together in a refuge of flowers, just like bees from a hive – the sole difference being that, while bees work, they won’t.” What is left of this dream? This pathetic farce is a way to deal with our ambiguous relation to old age and old people, who tend to be put aside by society, which does so with a heavy heart, according to the directors. Some characters were inspired from The End of the Day, a movie by Julien Duvivier with Louis Jouvet and Michel Simon, and are played by actors who are far from matching them in age. Beyond the plastic, physical and vocal work such an endeavour requires, the treatment of time is akin to atonement “Such a theme forces us to look our own finitude in the eye. Look away a little, laugh, cry, and gather courage, isn’t it what comedy dramas are all about?

NEW PRODUCTION

With the generous support of Aline Foriel-Destezet, great patron of the arts and the patronage of the Essayons de simplifier company.

Creative team

Written and directed by: Christophe Montenez et Jules Sagot
Scenocraphy and lights: Florent Jacob
Costumes: Gwladys Duthil
Original music and sound: John Kaced
Hair and makeup: Cécile Kretschmar
Choregraphic work: Christophe Thierry
Direction assistant: Elina Martinez
Costumes assistant: Anaïs Heureaux

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