Just thinking about seeing a play written by Camus made me nervous – probably similar to how the French react to a Shakespeare production.
The last time I tried to understand Camus, I was in American high school and totally and completely lost – to the point that I had to go out and get the summary in English just to pass. But when I heard that both my hero, Wajdi Mouawad (the Lebanese/Canadian playwright) as well as Emmanuelle Béart were acting in the production at the Colline, I knew I had to go. But before I went, I needed to read it (kind of like listening to Wagner before going to the Ring). So I gathered up my courage, went down the hall to my daughter’s room, grabbed the play and began reading.
What a joy and a surprise. First, it was a lot more accessible and readable than I expected. Either I have learned something in the last 20 years or my memories of being 18 and miserable are a bit warped. Secondly, I couldn’t believe how modern the play was. Here is a play written in 1949 based on an event that took place in 1905 (the terrorist bombing of the Czar’s uncle). It should be dated but the issues and dilemmas described could easily have been written about Al Qaida or any of the other insurgents around today: when and to what extent does one have the right to kill for an idea? When is it “just”? What about peripheral killings? What if there are children? Does love matter when there are more important things out there?
Camus doesn’t provide a definitive answer to these fundamental questions, but he provides different characters to give different view points: the poet Ivan Laliayev (Vincent Dissez), the passionate woman Dora Douebov (Emmanuelle Béart) the die-hard terrorist Stepan Fedorov (Wajdi Mouawad) the naïve student Alexis Voinov (Damien Gabriac)and the wise elder Boris Annenkov (Frédéric Leidgens) Throw in the begrieved widow, the grand-duchess (Véronique Nordey) and the cunning jailer Skouratov (Laurent Sauvage) and you have the whole spectrum.
But what about the production? Stanislas Nordey (who did a wonderful job with Incendie a few years ago) has decided here that he needs to imitate Robert Wilson. Little or no props. No stage direction other than stand, say your lines and run. We even got the Egyptian hand movements. All I can say is, what a shame. This is a play that deserves better. And Stanislas Nordey can do much better. Hard to imagine but they did it - take a passionate subject that is beautifully written and turn it into a dreary 2 ½ hours. However, there were a few exceptions – Emmanuelle Béart shows her talent as the dedicated Dora particularly when she declares her love and realizes what she has dedicated her life to and Laurent Sauvage provides a much needed comic relief as the jailer. Worth going if you’ve never seen Camus or want to get over a phobia!
Gail Negbaur
© Etat-critique.com - 20/04/2010
