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Tributes
 
Actes du Théâtre pays tribute to Nathalie Sarraute, Maurice Dugowson,
Roland Blanche and Joseph Reis, who died in 1999.

For Nathalie Sarraute

Nathalie Sarraute, theatre for the blind
'' … Nathalie Sarraute and the theatre were made for each other. And yet, they seemed to be strangers to one another. They didn't hunt in the same territory (She ran with the hare and it hunts with the hounds.)… Nathalie Sarraute wasn't interested in either the social relationships or the physical appearances of her characters. They are spokesmen or, even better, speakers bearing words. Their faces don't count. They are contained entirely within their spoken words, which reveal and denounce them, and make them fleetingly transparent.

Just listen to them. They are dialogues for the blind. … At a time when directors strive for visual effects, disguise words, and increasingly use tricks, forcing our eyes to work as hard as our ears, Nathalie Sarraute sticks to the Word. Words are the be all and end all here, ricocheting off the stagnant waters and stirring up their depths. They betray us and ultimately reveal who we are. They escape us. Beyond what they say, they express what is unsaid and hidden, sometimes even misunderstood by the speaker.

… Nathalie Sarraute's plays came to life, paradoxically on the fringe of theatre. The little dramas underneath the conversations, the banality and mechanical appearances reveal a secret world of sensations and emotions of which we are nothing but playthings. These games are both comic and fierce, with a funny, unexpected and unfathomable side that is surprising, irritating and enlightening …''

excerpts from Pierre Marcabru's chronicle in Le Figaro, 23-24 October 1999

"One's works do not affect time, provide meaning or prevent death.''

Nathalie Sarraute

For Maurice Dugowson

We called him Pitch …
"Pitch and I and several others met well before he became a director and before I became an actor and playwright.
Although we never discussed it, we had in common Drancy, Auschwitz, our mothers and fathers. What chance, what lack of awareness and what sort of pride made us leave the world of manual work that we had a legitimate claim to and throw ourselves into the hazards of an artist's life?
Pitch became a director for television, then for the cinema. He was funny and serious, thoughtful and discreet, just like his films. He has left us with the memory of his smile and the mischievous look in his eye.
Pitch loved the theatre, loved actors and plays. He was curious about everything, covering all sides of the profession from live coverage to in-depth reporting, satire and fiction. He was up for any adventure.
All those who worked with him and appreciated his self-possession, sound judgement and friendly irony – from playwrights and directors to journalists, technicians and actors – regret his untimely departure.
This fraternal tribute is addressed to his wife Betty, his children and family on behalf of the SACD theatre committee."

Jean-Claude Grumberg, 25 November 1999

Roland, you put up a good fight

"Roland Blanche fell asleep on his sofa on Sunday evening, 12 September. He loved sleeping on sofas – his own, his friends', and especially ones in theatre dressing rooms. He felt like he was sleeping without having to go to bed – like a child who's afraid of the dark, of suddenly being alone and being abandoned during the night.
Roland was often afraid. It was the kind of fear that children feel who go through life in a world that wasn't made for them. And yet, his genius and courage were evident in the way he decided very early on to hold out and fight, to remain a child.
He would never disguise himself as a man, the kind of ideal man who forges ahead in front of everyone else and is supposedly a real winner.
That was probably the only role that Roland never succeeded in playing. That kind of swaggering adult attitude was too far removed from him, and also from what he called "fine things". He was a little child born in Choisy, the son of a coppersmith and Mamita, his Italian mother whose voice could be heard every morning at the market in Thiais and who was every bit as good an actress as he was an actor, which is saying a lot.
He was indeed an actor. And that was all he wanted to be said of him. "Being" sufficed for him. But it's not enough for me.
Roland was one of the greatest actors of the late 20th century. He was magical and inspired, lighting up every play he ever acted in. He was such an exceptional actor that plays were written expressly for him, and I know a thing or two on the subject. Well done, Roland, you put up a good fight. You never fell into the adult trap. We love you and we shall never forget you."

Jean-Michel Ribes

For Denise et Joseph Reis

"Joseph Reis is unquestionably one of the most vital and least known playwrights of our times. Joseph Reis, who is also a poet, has a special touch through which he transcends everyday life at its most banal, trivial and sordid, lifting it up to the level of something mysterious – and not through some ethereal, abstruse or baroque style of writing. Joseph Reis's writing is biblical in its simplicity; but it is from his characters' hearts that he picks his strange, blood-soaked flowers - so fragile the minute they come into being and are manhandled by our numb fingers. It is from the deepest place within them (and him) that he draws on this secret and obscure emotion that quivers like a tear at the corner of an eye. Yes, Joseph Reis's writing contains a certain straightness and sometimes even cruelty, but it also has that intimate trembling that is found in great works of art – the kind that secretly resonates within us and that I sincerely believe comes from the creator's extraordinary generosity."

Maurice Cury

(website created by the playwright:http://www.ecrivain.org)