Père
The Father
by August Strindberg
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin
Richelieu
7 October 4 December 2016
Richelieu
Père
2016-10-07 00:00:00 2016-12-04 00:00:00
For his first staging at the theatre in 2015, the filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin chose Strindberg’s The Father, a work he has carried with him for a long time.
Less frequently performed than Miss Julie and The Dance of Death, the infernal, confined drama of The Father beautifully illustrates what Strindberg described as “the war that men as individuals perpetually engage in: ‘the struggle of minds’” through a couple whose initial rift arises from a disagreement concerning their daughter’s education.
This “conversation between man and woman” as the director presents it, is primarily a conversation of love: “Laura and Adolphe don’t know how to stop talking and hurting each other because they don’t know how to stop loving each other. They continue to talk to each other, while at war with each other, they continue to love each other, and we all share this fault.” Thus there is no guilty party in this tragedy, only beings who continually fail to understand each other, to agree, until their family is destroyed – the price to be paid for Laura to be freed, to the point of madness. In an intimate reading, Arnaud Desplechin pays tribute to Ingmar Bergman and Patrice Kerbrat, whose production of The Father on this same stage in 1991 left a deep impression on him. He is reunited with the Troupe with whom, as a filmmaker he has enjoyed a genuine companionship since 1996.
Creative team
Mise en scène : Arnaud Desplechin
Texte français : Arthur Adamov
Scénographie : Rudy Sabounghi
Costumes : Caroline de Vivaise
Lumière : Dominique Bruguière
Son : Philippe Cachia
Collaboration artistique : Stéphanie Cléau
Assistant éclairagiste : François Thouret
Distribution
the company
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Martine
ChevallierMargret, la vieille nourrice du capitaine (en alternance)
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The Comédie-Française Academy
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Pierre
Ostoya MagninSward, ordonnance du capitaine
Gallery
Père 16/17
Claude Mathieu, Michel Vuillermoz
Père 16/17
Anne Kessler, Michel Vuillermoz
Père 16/17
Alexandre Pavloff, Michel Vuillermoz
Père 16/17
Michel Vuillermoz, Anne Kessler
Père 16/17
Anne Kessler, Pierre Louis-Calixte, Martine Chevallier
Père 16/17
Michel Vuillermoz, Thierry Hancisse, Claire de La Rüe du Can
Père 16/17
Michel Vuillermoz, Claude Mathieu
Père 16/17
Michel Vuillermoz, Anne Kessler