Trilogie Mayenburg: Perplexe
English Title
Mayenberg Trilogy: Perplexed (or ‘Puzzled’)
Director
Maïa Sandroz
Playwright
Marius von Mayenburg
Year
2013-2016
Form
Stage play
Where staged
Théâtre de Ringis, Théâtre des Quartiers d'Ivry, Théâtre Paris-Vilette, Théâtre de la Générale
Duration
Perplexe: 1h10mins
Trilogie Mayenburg: 3h30 mins (including intermission between Voir Clair & Perplexe)
Synopsis
PERPLEXE
A couple, Eva and Robert, return home after the holidays, another couple of friends Judith and Sebastien, were supposed to take care of the plants during their absence, however it seems that they became the occupants of the apartment and throw Eva and Robert out of their house, later they come back but are no longer the same Eva and Robert as at the beginning, they are now the son of Judith and Sebastien: Robert and his nanny, Eva. Then we are witnessing a series of shifts in identity and even reality: Robert is an SS but also a skier, Sebastian is first of all a momentum and will come out, Eva disguises herself in a volcano to end up starving… Individuals running after insurance and security tossed about in a disintegrated reality, which slide on metaphysical banana peels that the author has thrown in their path, until the total deconstruction of the representation itself.
Adèle’s role
Maybe Judith or Eva. These are names mentioned in notes, but I have not yet been able to find a definitive answer to this.
Each actor takes on a couple of roles in the play. One article about this play, but not this production, says: “The four actors play musical chairs with their characters in an astonishing tumble of scenes.”
[Another possibility is ‘Adèle’ as, in the script, playwright Marius von Mayenburg suggests actors use their own names in the show. This add another layer of complexity to the play and its themes of identity and theatrical representation.]
Trailer for the show
This is the same trailer as for Le Moche, as I am yet to find more footage from this production.
I will update when I do.
I will update when I do.
Notes
This play was performed third in the trilogy of von Mayenburg plays in this production by Maîa Sandoz (we will look at the second one, Voir Clair, tomorrow). I have not been able to find any footage of the play, apart from the short trailer, though there are some (dead) links to footage that was shown on French television. This is disappointing. Hopefully footage will emerge over time. [If you find any please let me know so that I can link to it.]
Reviews indicate that this production by Maîa Sandoz was very good and all reviews were positive. It looks like it was a fabulous production.
Theatre L'Argument
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| 'The Gang' from Trilogie Mayenburg [Note photo of Adèle on the table...] |
Adèle, Maïa & Paul all appeared in Bertrand Bonello's L'Apollonide (2012).
Reviews
Trilogie Mayenburg:
“… Five actors including a musician for close to twenty characters from the three short plays of Marius Von Mayenburg: five accomplished athletes, Serge Biavan, Adèle Haenel, Paul Moulin, Aurélie Vérillon, Christophe Danvin. That economy is the least of courtesies -and performances- for an author who also wants incisive boning mundane relationships, at work, in the family, to the absurd (...)
The setting stage, in the concrete sense of the term (the actors move the material on sight), the occupation of space, the work of sound: all this is impeccable. The acting is a pure delight: they too can, with a helping hand, a pin, change their character, their mood, slide from one to the other in the service of clarity about.
With this little something more, this barely underlined trait, which makes you laugh. We are told that this show lasts three hours (with an intermission and very good carrot cakes)? Incredible, it lasts just long enough to savor it, as the economy is fair and precise.”
Christine Friedel- blog theater (translated by Google!)
“Seasoned or not, the four actors are great, let’s name them: Adèle Haenel, the youngest, Aurélie Verillon and Serge Biavan, all three work for the first times with Maïa Sandoz. And Paul Moulin, the eldest, artistic collaborator of the latter and co-founder with her of the Argument heatre. Moulin and Sandoz animate with others this artistic cooperative that is the Générale where the Mayenburg trilogy takes place, everything as nourishing and made with care as the homemade sandwiches on sale.”
[I just love that both these mention the snacks. Carrot cake and homemade sandwiches, according to the translation—what a night!]
Adèle & Maîa supporting education
In March 2015 Adèle and Maîa went to a school to discuss the plays Perplex and Le Moche and the staging of the plays with teenaged students. What an opportunity for these students and it says such fantastic things about the role of theatre in education in France and about these two women!
For context: In March 2015 Adèle had recently won the Best Actress César Award, having won the Best Actress in a Second Role César Award the previous year. She had been recognised as the best actress in the country and she took the time to spend time with school students! This speaks volumes of her commitment to her art and her generosity in sharing her time with young people.
From a report about the school visit:
“We continue on Perplexed. Adèle Haenel warns us: you have to let yourself be carried away by the piece, which functions like a mechanism that gradually gets carried away. The characters, over the text, become others through games of alliance and rejection. The director tells us about its origins: the four actors who created the show are well known to the spectators and, in fact, the show also works on winks that escape us. However, when we find ourselves at the heart of this frenzied epic in the evening, we are completely carried away by the flow of incongruous events which follow one another, a man with a dash of momentum, a child in Nazi uniform, a maid who is martyred, the actors have a great time and their slaughter makes us totally happy!”
When a student asks Adèle why she became an actress:
"Adèle Haenel tells us that from the age of five, she took acting lessons, which she followed up very quickly, a first film at 12, another at 17, a break for studies and a return to school, cinema and theater. As for the question of the envy of the profession, she is open: "when I was in high school, I had the impression of playing a role, suddenly, it seemed natural to me to do theater, but it was not that much because the question that arises is: where are we true? In life or on stage? " The mask… the identity, we come back to it, it ties in with the themes that we tackled while studying the theater… She also tells us that she did not have an “official” training (a school, a conservatory) and that, finally, it is not worse because it is also what drives her to work a lot to advance in her profession."
They speak to the students about the origins of the play and their involvement:
“And this show, together, how was it born? Maïa Sandoz is also an actress and the two met on a set. A few ping-pong games, shared beers, outings to the theatre with friends and hop! The desire to work together at the theatre was born! The clock has turned. We meet at the theatre in the Ivry neighborhoods for the performance. Two and a half hours of theatrical madness, a madness which seems unimaginable but which nevertheless pitilessly describes the world in which we live and its absurdities. A funny and catchy madness carried by comedians with a frantic pace.”
The production's program
and the program from the 2015/6 production
Images from the show
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| Paul Moulin (co-founder of Théâtre de l’Argument) & Adèle Haenel in Perplexe. Paul was also in L'Apollonide with Adèle & Maia. |
On tour with the show
Some early thoughts on French theatre
From the reading that I have done so far on Adèle’s work in the theatre I have had the following thoughts:
- Admission fees are modest and some events are free
- Most plays are available to tour the regions
- Most plays are supported by grants
- Many plays have supporting materials (dossier pédagogique) available to support school teachers in teaching their students about the play
I find all of these things very impressive!
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