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)
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