Nos serments
Cruel and playful variations on free love. Cinematic theatre that sheds light on the utopias of desire and untidy, reckless love.
Untidy, Reckless Love
This is only the third time that Julie Duclos has directed a play but already, given her refined approach and the suave, subtle acting of the performers, she is renowned for reaching a certain grace with Nos serments. Young people in their twenties cherish utopian ideas about love, desire and freedom. 40 years after May 68, these insolent, fragile lovers decide to live with no regard for convention or tradition. How far will they go? How long will they last?
“It’s great to be free, but not to screw everything up,” notes Esther. The cry of a generation singing the praises of a dangerous liberty, Nos serments is turbulent love viewed from the inside, the complex geometry created by five young people of disarming sincerity. The imagined offspring of the Jean Eustache film The Mother and the Whore, the play follows the characters as they evolve, both onstage and on screen. Cruel and tender, they engage in fulsome, razor-sharp dialogue. With incisive humour, scathing retorts and heated duels, this is a bittersweet portrait of love and infidelity.
Produced by L’In-quarto
Directed by Julie Duclos
Written by Julie Duclos + Guy-Patrick Sainderichin
Performed by Maëlia Gentil + David Houri + Yohan Lopez + Magdalena Malina + Alix Riemer
Assistant director Calypso Baquey
Set design Paquita Milville
Lighting design Jérémie Papin
Video design Emilie Noblet
Sound design Quentin Dumay + Pascal Ribier
Costume design Lucie Ben bâta + Marie-Cécile Viault
Stage manager and artistic advisor Mathilde Chamoux
Co-produced by CDN de Besançon + La Colline – Théâtre national + CDN Orléans Loiret Centre + Le Mail – Scène Culturelle de Soissons + MA scène nationale – Pays de Montbéliard + Célestins – Théâtre de Lyon + Théâtre le Poche (Genève) with the support of DRAC Île-de-France and artistic contribution of Jeune Théâtre National
Presented with the support of Institut français + Service de coopération et d’action culturelle du Consulat général de France à Québec
Premiered at CDN de Besançon, October 14, 2014
Julie Duclos (Paris)
L'In-quarto
A graduate of the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique in Paris, Julie Duclos brought together a number of fellow graduates to found the theatre company L’In-quarto in 2011. She explores a theatre of interiority based on the presence of the actor, in the tradition of her mentor Philippe Garrel.
