It’s a stage direction. One of many in the play that, each in its own way, mentions the solitude that Shakespeare imposes on Hamlet. A natural path laid out for Loïc Corbery to follow in this alone-on-stage performance. Because at night, on the ramparts of Elsinore castle, his father’s ghost tells him that he was murdered by his own brother Claudius, Hamlet will seek to expose the murder perpetrated by this uncle whom he abhors since he has married his mother and usurped the throne. “Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them?”
Hamlet is alone. Alone with this secret, with his grief, alone with his ghosts. Loïc Corbery follows the rules of the Singulis format to the letter and confronts the solitude of a character with that of the actor attempting to play him. Alone with Hamlet, in front of the audience. In this shared journey, he explores, beyond myth and history, a piece of pure poetry – made of doubts and revolt, violence and mystery. In seeking out his identity, like all the great figures in the repertoire, Hamlet speaks only of theatre in his tragic story. He defines it as the matrix of truth. The stage as the only place where you speak truthfully, where you exist truthfully. And this is where Shakespeare has placed some of his most beautiful monologues, where the rational goes hand-to-hand against the supernatural. (Hamlet alone); (All except Hamlet); (Hamlet reading); (Hamlet, aside)... Waiting for Hamlet, hearing him and, from him, conjuring characters and poets in the imagination, to talk a little about oneself.

NEW PRODUCTION

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

Concepted and performed by: Loïc Corbery