Dostoyevsky revisited by Lionel González

Lionel González is reprising “La nuit sera blanche” at the Aquarium theater, inspired by “La Douce” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. An intense and sensitive piece.

He is alone in front of the public. Is it addressed to him or to a “you” particular ? A single man, Lionel González, facing the multitude, society. The man has a lot to say. The night is likely to be long and sleepless. His wife threw herself out of the window. A suicide that he cannot explain.

For him, this whole story has no beginning. Terrified, he cannot reason. In this first part of the play, Lionel González is haggard, overwhelmed by emotion. He doesn’t finish his sentences, confusion gripping him all the time. Exhausted, he nevertheless wants to tell his story, to tell his wife. He calls the public to witness.

“The revolution is organic”

On the concrete wall, like graffiti. “Imagine a husband whose wife, a suicide who threw herself out of a window a few hours ago, is lying on a table in front of him.” The quote is from the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky who thus introduces, in his author’s note, the plot of his short story Soft.

On the bare set, Lionel González is in search of meaning. So, the character looks back on his tumultuous past and his uncertain present. He loves his wife deeply, completely. His introspective monologue takes him away. He remembers. His memory is necessarily selective. He remembers his first meeting with his wife in his small pawn shop. He also remembers that he was a fallen aristocrat, an officer returned to civilian life. The man dwells on his failures.

For what ? Why did she commit suicide? Man comes up against the wall of non-communication. But over the course of the introspective monologue, thoughts sharpen, words come to say the unspeakable and the fog gradually clears. The night will be white is also a great sensory experience. To the right of Lionel González, Thibault Perriard accompanies the text with an original sound universe while behind him, as a mute cook, Jeanne Candel brings the contradiction in a remarkable artistic performance. Lionel González, convincing as a tortured man overwhelmed by tragedies in search of redemption. The night will be white, a multisensory experience which introduces us, with rare intensity, into the world of Dostoyevsky.