PASSIM

Passim rises from the ruins of febrile humanity. A past master of virtuoso concoctions, François Tanguy presents an archeology of the moment. Director of the Théâtre du Radeau for close to 35 years, he probes deep into the bowels of the history of art, literature and music in a quest for a rare poetry. Sublime.

Shadows or silhouettes, heroes and kings and queens. Splendid actors vanquish fragments of eternity and seize the imagination. They make even furniture, empty picture frames, gaily coloured panels of wallpaper dance with life, part and parcel of a space full of possibilities. Everything is askew in this theatre sculpted from the ephemeral – a cobbled-together horse, a cardboard crown, sumptuous robes and tunics from an ageless epic. Tableaux vivants appear and disappear, slip from their frames and then vanish in a sad, indefinable feast. Literary salvos from Euripides to Molière, Shakespeare to Flaubert, are reinforced with music by accomplices such as Beethoven, Cage, Haendel and Xenakis. In the bewitchment of this unlikely ball, meaning remains elusive. A grandiose state of wonder.

PRODUCED BY THÉÂTRE DU RADEAU
DIRECTION AND SET DESIGN FRANÇOIS TANGUY
PERFORMED BY LAURENCE CHABLE + PATRICK CONDÉ + FOSCO CORLIANO + MURIEL HÉLARY + VINCENT JOLY + CAROLE PAIMPOL + KARINE PIERRE + JEAN ROCHEREAU
SOUND DESIGN ERIC GOUDARD + FRANÇOIS TANGUY
LIGHTING DESIGN FRANÇOIS FAUVEL + JULIENNE HAVLICEK ROCHEREAU + FRANÇOIS TANGUY
STAGE AND LIGHTING MANAGER FRANÇOIS FAUVEL
SOUND MANAGER ERIC GOUDARD

COPRODUCTION THÉÂTRE NATIONAL DE BRETAGNE – CENTRE EUROPÉEN THÉÂTRAL ET CHORÉGRAPHIQUE + MC2 MAISON DE LA CULTURE DE GRENOBLE – SCÈNE NATIONALE + LE GRAND T THÉÂTRE DE LOIRE-ATLANTIQUE (NANTES) + LU LE LIEU UNIQUE – SCÈNE NATIONALE DE NANTES + CENTRE DRAMATIQUE NATIONAL DE BESANÇON
CORÉALISATION T2G THÉÂTRE DE GENNEVILLIERS + FESTIVAL D’AUTOMNE À PARIS
PRESENTED WITH THE SUPPORT OF INSTITUT FRANÇAIS + RÉGION DES PAYS DE LA LOIRE + SERVICE DE COOPÉRATION ET D’ACTION CULTURELLE DU CONSULAT GÉNÉRAL DE FRANCE À QUÉBEC IN ASSOCIATION WITH ESPACE GO

WRITTEN BY JESSIE MILL
TRANSLATED BY NEIL KROETSCH

PREMIERED A THÉÂTRE NATIONAL DE BRETAGNE, FESTIVAL METTRE EN SCÈNE, RENNES, NOVEMBER 7, 2013