Father-son relationships haunt Olivier Kemeid’s dramaturgy. Whether he likes it or not. “It’s undoubtedly my psychoanalysis,” explains the author of Me, in the red ruins of the century. Why is it an obsession? I have the impression that I try to answer it each time by writing a work on it. It’s a way of talking about identity, sometimes exile, heritage, transmission. It is vast and complex. There are times when it makes me feel good to deal with this theme; to others, it is painful. For Revenge and oblivion, I said to myself: I can’t believe I’m going to fall into this again! But it imposed itself on me. »
The creation of the ex-director of Quat’Sous finds its origin in his distant reading of the fascinating Investigation of Hamletwhere the French essayist Pierre Bayard questions, in his “serious and zany” way, the official version of the enigma in Shakespeare’s play: that it was Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, who killed his father.
“Nourished by these multiple avenues”, and eight years after its Five Kings taken from the Shakespearean cycle of kings, Olivier Kemeid therefore “dialogues” with Hamlet. A legendary work which has given rise to many interpretations. “Shakespeare left us grappling with obscure, mysterious aspects, which never cease to question us. There are so many questions that Hamlet himself asks — obviously, it’s the drama of conscience — that it’s eternal. Of course, the fundamental thing is: who am I? What does it mean to be a human being, a son, a man? »
His contemporary play, which is inspired by the Elizabethan masterpiece and then “moves away from it”, is set not in a kingdom, but in the world of theater. Hamlet is a writer/actor there. The text thus calls into question preconceived family roles. “Is this what being the son of, being a father is?” Are we confined to a role? I think we put enormous pressure on ourselves; we are stuck with the artificial, rigid construction that we have [bâtie] of what a son, a father should be. »
We could say that the paternal specter of Hamlet is the ultimate absent father. Even in death, he controls his son’s destiny, summoning him from beyond the grave to avenge him. “It asks questions about what we leave behind and how not to be a burden, while still being present. Absence is terrible, but omnipresence is suffocating. It is the first power, that which a parent exercises in a family. I experienced it as a father: you see the immense power you have over your children. It’s dizzying, how harmful and oppressive it can be. »
For Kemeid, whose own father died a year ago, which changed his creation (“what could have been theoretical has become so emotional and personal”), it is above all important to deal “calmly” with the legacy of which we inherit. “And it’s quite a challenge. [André] Malraux said that a heritage must be won. We must refuse to have everything imposed on us. There is sorting to be done. Hamlet can’t do it! That’s his whole problem. He takes everything and [donne] a mission. And it touches us because we often feel invested with a kind of mission to perpetuate [certaines choses]. This idea of perpetuation creates cycles of revenge. It’s also a way for me to think — and I obviously think a lot about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — about how to stop this cycle. »
The problem, he believes, has its source in our desire for recognition, which is so strong. “What the death of a father or mother ultimately creates is that, finally, the child — whatever his age! — will no longer be able to seek parental approval. It’s so hard to free yourself from it! »
Since in Shakespeare, the father is a king, Revenge and oblivion also constitutes an opportunity to address the “rather masculine system in which we grew up”, in short patriarchy, to question the basis of power. And to the author’s surprise, the role of Gertrude (played by Mireille Naggar), the mother of Hamlet (Gabriel Lemire), emerged with great importance in his text. He also gives him the last word. “And what was intended to be a play about father-son bonds – it still is – is also very much about the mother-son relationship. Which makes me happy. »
Missing father, accomplished clown
“Can a fatherless actor become anything other than a clown? Of course yes, but in the show they say no. It’s a tale. » JF Nadeau had the idea of Missed threads? by meeting the renowned circus artist René Bazinet. “He told me about being a clown, how much it was in him and that he couldn’t do anything else,” he says. A vocation that he explained by the absence of his father. The author and director then thought of his friend David-Alexandre Després, also a clown.
Both were abandoned by their father, whom they “met briefly.” But they couldn’t really make peace” with him before his death. Nadeau understood that he had a coin there. “I saw a correlation between the pain of abandonment and the desire to please. These actors have so much energy and need attention. And I don’t mean that in a pejorative sense. It’s really special. It comes from a flaw. »
If the show, written from improvisation laboratories, comes from the performers, it distances itself from them to go into fiction, “into the world of dreams”. In Missed threads? two clowns settle scores with their absent father by gambling with their lives. A game where they play all the roles.
The creation launches a “sloppy” nod to the famous book Missing father, missing son by Guy Corneau. “I more or less agree with this work. She has been criticized a lot by feminists, and with good reason: I think that one or two women can raise a child alone and there won’t be that much damage. But still, not having an immediate male role model can be harmful. For some people, I think it can exacerbate their need for attention. » JF Nadeau remarks that “it’s almost taboo, at the moment, to talk about the importance of Yang, of man, of this energy. Who has lots of flaws, limitations and who still has a lot to learn. But this energy [masculine] exist. And for most guys, the relationship with their father is major in their development. »
The creator also wanted to make clowns for adults. An art “little known here, often relegated to the youth audience and approached in a very naive way. I think clowns can also have dialogue scenes. » And he likes that this figure exposes “all the human clumsiness, weaknesses, ugliness”. “That’s where we’re going.” »
In comedy, but also tragedy. René Bazinet and David-Alexandre Després — who notably starred, respectively, in Saltimbanco And Kurios — wanted to explore new territories. “They have been making people laugh at Cirque du Soleil for 10, 20 years and they are exhausted. They were washed out by this show machine. So, we go to areas that are very modest for them. The real trouble, anger. »
And at La Petite Licorne, the public – a true play partner in a clown show – will have up-close access to their “breathtaking” physical performance. “It’s an acrobatic score that we’re used to seeing on big tracks. But doing that in an intimate setting is what I find beautiful. »