I sometimes amuse myself by imagining what great authors of the past would have written about the events of times after their lives. William Shakespeare, among others. After having staged hordes of cruel and corrupt tyrants, what poisonous ink would he have spilled on Adolf Hitler’s criminal delusions which set Europe ablaze in the XXe century ? Closer to home, what would the great Will paint around the reign of Donald Trump and his desire to take over the head of the White House? No doubt he would lend him some traits of the character of Falstaff for corpulence, buffoonery, lies, cowardice, without the model’s brilliant mind. Also aspects of King Lear to the ray of blindness which leads to his downfall. And Coriolanus for hubris and narcissism, minus courage. Macbeth, Richard II, Richard III, many other monarchs steeped in obscure sources would pose together to illustrate the man who pushed his troops to storm the Capitol on American soil in the 21st century.e century.
We like to see in the former president a monstrous political figure deprived of his Shakespeare. Still, the intoxication of power has no era. Otherwise the works of the British playwright would be outdated, played less, when they play on so many Western stages.
Several plays by the Elizabethan author expose the erratic movements that inflame the people against the elites. Today, conspirators and outcasts take to the streets in many corners of the globe. Societies are splitting between enemy factions, as much as yesterday, with new and dematerialized weapons. What would the poet from Stratford-upon-Avon have drawn from it? We imagine him a little speechless at the advances in artificial intelligence… Nevertheless, his fascination for the human psyche in its dark maze reveals indomitable demons.
I went on Saturday to see Rome at Usine C, which combines a refined staging by Brigitte Haentjens and a text retranslated from English into Franco-Quebecois by her great accomplice Jean Marc Dalpé. The patricians express themselves there in a chastised French, the plebeians in popular speech, coronations included. The differences in language and the sometimes anachronistic costumes make sense, even when they border on caricature. Because everything runs on familiar ground. Especially since Trump’s America and its red caps are seen delivered in parallel. The decadence of yesterday in the shadow of the seven hills of Rome holds up the mirror to the present times.
Seven and a half hours, including two intermissions, is a long time. However, few spectators left before the end of this uneven but vibrant spectacle. Intrigued, exhausted or fascinated, most returned to their seats after breaks. It must be said that many of the victims of the ice storm took advantage of the opportunity to warm up there… Shakespeare, with his black flames, gave us a light, which was exalted by the beautiful lighting. Three musicians in the shadows punctuated the action like a choir.
Through this cycle of great Roman tragedies — The Rape of Lucretius, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra And Titus Andronicus — unfold evil and misfortune, political ascents, struggles for democracy, hours of mutual aid, the rise and decline of the Roman Empire. With some thirty performers from the four corners of the room and a minimalist decor inviting a thousand projections, pride, betrayal and injustice dominate the game, from the last king of Rome to the Republic then to the Empire until ‘to the decadence of corrupt dictators, under the onslaught of barbarians. Titus Andronicusthe most disorderly and bloody of Shakespeare’s works (of the “gore” before the letter), closes the march.
I looked at Sebastien Ricard’s mohawk cut, dazzling in the role of Coriolanus. His hair accentuated the barbarity of the complex character, valiant, vindictive, contemptuous of the people he transcended on the boards. It made him look like “Rambo” Gauthier.
Contemporary, the British Bard. Enough to give the impression that the last act of Rome will be played tomorrow on our own land or right next to it. All the auspices cry it out. The news reflects the echo. Trump taunts and manipulates America even more. And if he was going to win the next votes beyond his crimes? So many Roman emperors will have gotten out of very bad shape before him. The parallel invites doubt.
We leave the theater by accommodating Shakespeare in us. Mind-boggling plays are played out in the public arena. How not to see the shadow of the great Will hovering over this story told by an idiot, full of sound and fury?