Théatre National > Studio
In the best of all mediatised worlds, we are told about, and we are even allowed to see, the ideal father, the ideal mother, the ideal child, the ideal family… And then one day, we suddenly realize that this is not the norm. The norm is actually in the cracks, in the difficulty of experiencing a relationship that can be cruel. Deeply moving in its truth and its beauty, this play, has two scenes written as echoes of the meetings that Joël Pommerat and his company had with a group of residents of Hérouville-Saint-Clair in Normandy. More dream-like than realistic, thanks to subtle, refined and original work on sound, lighting and music, the play is built around sequences that put parents and children face to face. Their words hit hard, the truth bursts forth: a mother is afraid to lift the cloth that covers her son’s lifeless body, a lost girl waits for salvation through her unborn child, a teenager insults his unemployed father… We recognise elements of our own story, of everyone’s stories. The emotion is intense: we see real life on stage, as in a dream.
Production : Compagnie Louis Brouillard |Coproduction : L’Espace Malraux-Scène nationale de Chambéry et de la Savoie, Théâtre Brétigny-Scène conventionnée du Val d’Orge, la Ferme de Bel Ebat de Guyancourt, Théâtre de La Coupe d’Or-Scène conventionnée de Rochefort, Théâtre Paris-Villette – La Compagnie Louis Brouillard reçoit le soutien du Ministère de la Culture/Drac Ile-de-France et de la Région Ile-de-France | Le texte de Cet Enfant est édité chez Actes Sud-Papiers.La scène 9 est inspirée d’une scène de Jackets ou la main secrète d’Edward Bond | Joël Pommerat est artiste associé au Théâtre National/Bruxelles et à l’Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe. Il fait partie de l’association d’artistes de Nanterre-Amandiers