Daniel Pennac was a real dunce when he was a child, and it was while he was at boarding school that his passion for reading was born: “At the time, reading was a subversive act. The excitement of disobeying added to the discovery of the novel.” Pennac has since become an author, but also a teacher, and he recounts: “I had terrible memories of school. The life of a bad pupil is it awful: so much suffering! But a quarter of an hour into my first class, I liked the job. I preferred children”.
Chagrin d’école (School Blues) is a mesh of personal memories and reflections on education. Laurent Natrella enters the classroom. From the blackboard to the pupils’ desks, he takes us through the novel. The lesson, which is strikingly topical, is to do with poetry as much as with grammar and spelling. He is a teacher himself alongside his work as an actor, and in this performance he shares his love for child’s play with the audience.

Le texte est publié aux éditions Gallimard.

THE THEATRICAL PRACTICE OF THE SOLO is relatively new to the Comédie-Française. Ever since the seventeenth century, the institution has defined itself first as a troupe of actors whose collective identity predominates over the expression of individualities. From as early as 1674 this quality was pointed out by Samuel Chappuzeau in his Théâtre Francois, when he compared theatre troupes to political “bodies” that functioned as so many small “Republics”. Commenting on actors, he wrote that “they admit no superiors, the name alone offends them; they all wish to be equal, and call each other comrades”. The motto of the Comédie-Française, Simul et Singulis (be together and be oneself), which appeared in 1682 along with the emblem of the buzzing hive, characterises this philosophy in which each contributes, though his or her own talent, to the collective work.

No solos... only soloists

While the practice of performing alone on stage is not considered a fitting pursuit, the “solo” form of the monologue is highly appreciated by the public, and sometimes staged to showcase the protagonist in all his or her splendour and in contrast with the rest of the troupe. This is an effect of the star system that clearly emerged in the nineteenth century.
Soloist practices most often developed outside of the theatre’s activity. Some actors embarked on personal tours that were sometimes scheduled without regard for the interests of the Comédie-Française –Talma or Rachel were capable of taking off while leaving their comrades in difficulty. They would travel with trunks full of costumes but recruit fill-in actors and find makeshift sets on the spot to perform the great scenes of their repertoire. The performance then resembled a recital of choice excerpts, selected to showcase the actor whose talent was all the more strongly emphasised given that he or she was performing alongside second-class actors if not to say amateurs.
The monologue per se developed at the end of the nineteenth century, thanks to the Coquelin brothers, but today remains an exception. The motto Simul et Singulis, perfectly sums up the indispensable paradox for any actor who is the member of a Troupe.

• Visual : Hive, engraving by Guillaumot fils

Adaptation, design and performance: Laurent Natrella
Adaptation and artistic collaboration**:** Christèle Wurmser
Lights: Franck Walega
Sounds: Dominique Bataille