[Entrevue] ‘Rome’ features five tragedies and ‘a life cycle of power’

“I think it’s going to be a memorable moment,” said Jean Marc Dalpé. In any case, I know that this experience, these four years of work have transformed me, brought me elsewhere as a human being, as a creator. And we invite people to come and see [Rome] because we think it’s going to be an event that will also transform them. Probably as a spectator and, we hope, as a politician too. »

Romea large-scale show created at Usine C, marks a new collaboration between the playwright and the director Brigitte Haentjens, after their powerful Richard III, in 2015. This “collective project” is the culmination of a long process. “It’s a reflection on the society in which we live today, enriched by dialogues with actors from different generations”, explains the designer.

The adventure brings together five tragedies: The Rape of Lucretius — dramatic poem never presented here —, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar And Anthony and Cleopatra. If Shakespeare reflected on power in his historical plays, he told the story “of the grandparents” of those who governed England in his time, notes Jean Marc Dalpé, who joins the conversation from Sudbury , in virtual. “What’s special about Roman plays is that Shakespeare has greater permission to think differently about politics and power. By working on more allegorical material, in a sense, that does not belong to his society, he can think about what a semblance of democracy means, a republic, the tyranny of the empire. »

For the text of Rome, which will appear at the same time as the show (at Prize de parole), the playwright was strongly inspired by these plays. “I write alongside Shakespeare, with him. It is a work of rewriting, in the sense that one creates a new work which is not one’s own. He updated – without transposing them to our era – these reflections in order to make it a “relevant and impactful” text now. The Roman universe “becomes an allegory that allows us to talk about the different currents, the political-social, even economic conflicts that cross us today”.

A full year almost in Shakespearian confinement. This work erases all other life. But at the same time, it’s extraordinary.

This score plays with anachronisms and different levels of language, in a “music” very different from that of Shakespeare. “I have no doubt that some people will be shocked by the choices we made. But so much the better. I shake the cage. Dalpé laughingly gives the example of a character throwing Fuck old ! in the middle of a flight. “What interests me is not the Shakespearean word, the letter, but the impulses of the character he has created. »

If the relationship with the public is direct, the creators have taken care not to make Rome a reductive fresco, a shortcut to tragedies, warns Brigitte Haentjens. “We wanted to try to show its richness as well, its depth. The language is direct, but it shows things in their complexity. Even if the show is accessible.

Domination

Running from tyranny to the beginnings of democracy in a republic, then from the building of an empire until its fall and chaos, the plot of the show follows “a life cycle of power, in a way”, sums up the director. The echoes between Roman civilization and our world impose themselves. From the start, the scene where Tarquin exerts his domination through rape can be read through the #MeToo movement. “It’s still the story of Lucretia, but it sounds different,” says Jean Marc Dalpé. And in Coriolanus, there is the big stage where the people take over the Capitol. We are in full Trumpist delirium [rires]. We don’t need to point that out. In short, “examples abound”.

For the author, Shakespeare perceived very well the mechanisms of political conflict, “how interests come into conflict, how easily things can slide into violence and tragedy. The human being does not change, because we have conflicting wills. And when that happens, we’ve been working for thousands of years with the same motivations to get what we want, to achieve our goals. Whether we are in a toga, in tuxedo or in high heels — hey, that’s good,” he laughs, proud of his improvised image.

It is therefore a culture of domination, a desire “to crush the other”, adds his accomplice. “To be jealous and to want to possess what belongs to the other. »

A travel

Initially, Brigitte Haentjens had not necessarily planned to mount a fresco on such a monumental scale, lasting seven and a half hours, including intermissions! “But I liked the idea of ​​a journey through different universes, an epic, a bit like theOdyssey. It is all the same very different, for the spectator. And I believe in the power of theatre, and in the collective. So there was also the desire to have a diverse community on stage, of different ages and backgrounds. I liked this mixed side of society. »

Among her thirty (!) performers, she assigned the roles, mostly male, without necessarily taking into account gender (“thus Céline Bonnier plays Brutus”) or age. But, she points out, “there is a theatrical simplicity in the proposal. We don’t pretend that we become another character. Everyone plays in all the plays, big and small roles. You can play a guard as well as Coriolanus. It’s beautiful, that, for me. This is the idea of ​​the troupe. »

The designer admits that she had not realized, first of all, what a challenge this adventure would represent, “the requirement and the discipline” required on a personal level: “A full year almost in Shakespearian confinement. This work erases all other life. But at the same time, it’s extraordinary. »

Shakespeare seems to call this kind of over-the-top project. In Quebec, Dalpé had also played in the marathon of Five Kings, “a great experience”. And at the 2010 Festival TransAmériques, we saw Roman tragedies, of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam troupe, led by Ivo Van Hove, who put on three of the Roman pieces. Brigitte Haentjens will often have been reminded of this production… “At the beginning, when I was talking about the project, everyone told me [elle emprunte une voix pleine de dérision] : “Ivo Van Hove did it.” As if, because he’s a great European director who had the means, we didn’t have the right, the legitimacy to [monter aussi ces pièces]. I’m not saying it didn’t affect me. But the subject interested me enough for me to be able to overcome it,” she says, laughing. And why wouldn’t the public have the chance to see another look at these great texts? asks the director.

Praising the complexity of Shakespearian thought, Dalpé himself is already dreaming of another Italian cycle, made up of the two Venetian pieces, The Merchant of Venice And othello. “I’m looking for a director who would like to do that. These are two pieces that speak of the Other. It’s fantastic ! “The message is launched…

Rome

Translation and adaptation: Jean Marc Dalpé, after William Shakespeare. Director: Brigitte Haentjens. Creation: Sibyllines, in coproduction with the French Theater of the NAC. At Usine C, from April 5 to 23.

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