Florence Pernel and Bernard Malaka, a couple at the top in a play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre

Is retirement a little death or a rebirth? Agnès Duval has built 27 buildings in 27 European countries for a huge construction group. Agnès Duval, played by an inspired Florence Pernel, descending from her ivory tower, from its twenty-seven towers, discovers her new life as a pre-retiree… and above all discovers herself. Part of herself before being thanked by her construction group, the one who built skyscrapers, she refuses to say buildings, she notes, startled, that she knows nothing about her surroundings, her daily life . She flew through her own life like a Jet going at full speed. She lived her life to the fullest, never retaining or savoring anything other than her work. Is this how people live? Frivolous, fickle, airy, Agnès Duval did not expect the frontal collusion with everyday life, this everyday life.

The Other is me

Florence Pernel is barely moving in this role which sees her world collapse with the installation of her daughter abroad and the departure of her husband, played by a Bernard Malaka with a strong physical presence, both caring and then determined. Isolated, now without friends, Agnès Duval now lives alone in her large house. From the tops of the towers to the meanders of solitude. So when her gardener takes in two Georgian refugees threatened with expulsion, Agnès Duval is hesitant then accepts. Then invests completely in the relationship. Jean-Philippe Daguerre, author and director, introduces a whole range of emotions and feelings.

Is Agnès Duval disinterested in her commitment? Is her effort to reach out to the Other a way of filling the void within her? A way to heal your narcissistic wounds? Jean-Philippe Daguerre, whose last piece Farewell Mr. Hoffman won four Molières, tackled two important themes: life after work, retirement, and prejudices. “ It is by confronting these two subjects that I came to imagine the story of Agnès, a powerful and fortunate woman, just retired who, thanks to the dramatic circumstances which affect her new life, will find her salvation in meeting a couple of Georgian undocumented immigrants struck by tragedy. It is this meeting between the strongest and the weakest, the richest and the poorest which guided the narration of this modern tale. he explains.

The director chose a nervous narration with very short scenes. The couple Florence Pernel and Bernard Malaka works wonderfully. Hers is the heart, his is the reason. The replies hit the mark. Downside, because one is necessary, the refugees would have benefited from being less caricatured, right down to their clothes.

Form :

Author and director: Jean-Philippe Daguerre.

Distribution : Florence Pernel, Bernard Malaka, Charlotte Matzneff, Marc Siemiatycki, Antoine Guiraud and Tanguy Vrignault.

Gender : Contemporary theater
Place : Current Theater La Bruyère, Paris 9th
Until November 19, 2023
Duration : 1h30

Summary : Agnès Duval has built 27 buildings in 27 European countries for a huge construction group. Building on her “success” and her Legion of Honor, she decides to take a well-deserved early retirement to enjoy life, her family and her fortune. But even when you think you’ve reached the heights, things don’t always turn out the way you imagined them, and life can have many surprises in store for you… even taking you to eighth heaven.