Lectures d'Adèle Haenel, pour la libération d'Asli Erdogan (2016)
This reading from the works of Asli Erdogan is not a theatre performance, but rather it is Adèle using her performing talents, and her profile, in a political act. Much of Adèle's work in the theatre, and particularly her work with Theatre de l'Argument, has had a real political edge to it. I've included information about this event here because I thought it would be of interest to you, and to highlight Adèle's political efforts and the cause that she chose to support.
English Title
Adèle Haenel reads for the Freedom of Asli Erdoğan
Author
Asli Erdoğan
Year
19 December 2016
Form
Book reading
Director Basile Lemair Staged
Televised by Telerama Live
Synopsis
“With Adèle Haenel, ask for the release of Asli Erdogan
Imprisoned in Istanbul since August, the writer and journalist d'Asli Asli Erdoğanrisks life imprisonment for speaking out against the oppression of the Turkish regime. To show her solidarity, “Télérama asked actress Adèle Haenel to read a selection of texts by the writer, whose trial will take place on December 29 (2016).”
This is not quite theatre, but seems to be theatre-adjacent, that is, it is reading and a very political act, so I thought that I would include some information about it here.
Some background: Asli Erdoğan (no relation to the president with the same last name) is Turkish writer and journalist who denounced torture, the oppression of the Kurds, violence against women, and living conditions in Turkish prisons. She was arrested in August 2016 and was held for 132 days in pre-trial detention. She was acquitted of all charges in 2020. Below are links to articles with more information on this writer and her detention.
Related articles for background reading
19 December 2016
With Adèle Haenel, ask for the release of Asli Erdogan
“Repression of Kurds, violence against women, torture ... Because she has always spoken out against all oppression, the Turkish writer and journalist Asli Erdogan risks life imprisonment. Rereading her work today, one is struck by its premonitory power.”
Turkish author Aslı Erdoğan's detention 'breaches convention on human rights'
The novelist’s pre-trial imprisonment on terror charges has been condemned by lawyers and academics, who say there are no grounds for this extreme measure.
Turkish writer Asli Erdogan acquitted of terrorism charges
“Asli Erdogan was arrested on August 2016 and accused of "terror propaganda" and of "undermining national unity." She has lived in a self-imposed exile in Europe since she was allowed to leave Turkey in 2017.”
1h40mins (full production, not sure about the play reading)
About the production
Playwright
Marius von Mayenburg Translation
Mathilde Sobottke Reading directed by
Maia Sandoz With
Serge Biavan,
Maxime Coggio
Adèle Haenel
Paul Moulin
Maia Sandoz
Music
Christophe Danvin
Theatre de L’Argument
Synopsis
To relieve their daily lives, a couple of humanists on the left, who are caring and close to burnout, decided to hire Jessica to help them‑to do the housework, do the dishes, cook and take care of their son who is in the midst of a teenage crisis.
But how are they going to continue to be "good people" now that they are bosses?
Then, it is the conceptual artist Serge Haulupa who wants Jessica for one of his performances. What should she do? What she does everyday: clean up other people's shit, but this time in public. A flirt with Humiliation? Yes, but it's in the name of art, and art is life, right?
About the play
Michael and Ulrike are close to burnout. They are pressurized by their work, by their son’s early entry into puberty and by Ulrike’s boss, the famous conceptual artist Serge Haulupa who constantly interferes in their domestic idyll. A housekeeper would assist them. They therefore hire the young Jessica who will quickly become an indispensable member of the family. She tidies up, does the dishes, cooks and takes care of the little one. But who is she really? Did someone just ask her? Michael and Ulrike face a terrible dilemma, how to behave appropriately when you find yourself in the role of the boss? Especially when you have always proclaimed yourself a defender of workers' rights. What to give her at Christmas? Money? Of course, but how much? Under what amount can this gift become an insult? And suddenly Ulrike's boss wants Jessica for one of his installations. What should she do? What she does every day: clean up other people's shit, but this time in public. A flirt with humiliation? Yes, but it's in the name of art, isn't it?
With this new satire, Marius von Mayenburg, crucifies Judeo-Christian guilt and explodes the veneer of the values of the well-thinking intellectual left with monstrous embarrassment. It is creaky, exhilarating and it hurts very very much.
'Michaël is a doctor and Judith assistant to Haulupa, a famous conceptual artist. They are a couple of leftist humanists, caring and close to burnout. To relieve their daily lives, they decide to hire Jessica to do the housework, dishes, cooking and take care of Vincent, their teenager, who is also in crisis. But how are they going to be able to continue to be "good people" now that they are bosses?
With this satire, Marius von Mayenburg reveals the chasm between our convictions and our actions with monstrous embarrassment. With an unrestrained rhythm of the language, liveliness of the sequences, surprising ellipses, variations of addresses, setting in abyss, perfectly balanced course of the characters, black humour, cynicism, bad taste, irony, poetry and mystery, Stück Plastik imposes without immodesty a dive in the dark corners of our petty bourgeois souls. It's brilliant, enjoyable and it hurts a lot!'
Adèle performed in the play reading of Stück Plastik in 2016 at Theatre Du Ronde Point with the Théâtre de l’Argument troupe in 2016. I have not been able to find much about this event, apart from what is above.
Théâtre de l’Argument staged a full production of the play in 2018, but Adèle was not in this production. This may be because she was busy filming three feature films that year(!), Le Daim, Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu, and Les Heros ne Meurent Jamais.
Review of the full production
(This is a review of the full production, as the play reading was not reviewed, as is normal)
As with all of the plays staged by Théâtre de l’Argument, reviews praise the director and the actors. This is troupe that works well together and makes great theatre. One day I will get to see a performance (once this damned virus lets us travel...)
“Portrait in vitriol of the face-to-face meeting between those above and those below, the charge is explosive and joyful. Maïa Sandoz, who embodies herself, with Olympian calm, the tyrannized housekeeper, has mounted the room in a colorful farce with the false airs of a trendy plastic installation. Intelligent, funny and abrasive.”
Fabienne Pascaud, Telerama
The actors are absolutely exceptional and plunge us into the conflicts, neuroses and bad faith of their character. Everything is wonderful in the borrowed speech, nothing in reality. And the finale in an navel of this borrowed speech is absolutely hilarious.
To the genius of the staging Maia Sandoz adds that of an actress by signing an interpretation of the housekeeper unbearably guilty. It takes the place of the real, the real and offers the text the most brilliant homage.
David Rofé-Sarfati ,Tout La Culture
Photos from the production by Theatre de l'Argument
(These are from the full production of the play, not the play reading that Adèle performed in)
Reading at the Festival Contre Courant 2015 Stage Play 2016-2018
Duration
1h40m
Synopsis
Gorge Mastromas is a bastard and knows it.
He can. He has the money and the power.
As a child, his kindness confined him to supporting roles, suffering more than he chose his life. As an adult, he metamorphoses. Leaves innocence for abjection, becomes master of a capitalist world in which he reigns, whatever the means employed.
With a corrosive humor, Dennis Kelly creates with this character the
prototype of the liberal hero: an unscrupulous being, the kind of
manipulator that sacreds our society today.
Each new piece by Denis Kelly is a real surprise.
The skill of his characters and his dramatic audacity make him one of the most talented European authors of our time.
In Ritual Slaughter, Dennis Kelly reminds us that our choices are only
good or bad in the light of history; with his latest play, he gives us a
monstrous mythology of tremendous modernity. He produces here "by the way" his best opus.
It is a clearly charged piece against ultra-liberalism, "by the way", which methodically kills humanity in all of us.
Production details
Stage director
Maïa Sandoz
With
Adèle Haenel
Aurélie Verillon
Paul Moulin
Serge Biavan
Gilles Nicolas
Maxime Coggio
Christophe Danvin
Translation
Gerard Watkins
Assistant stage director
Clémence Barbier
Light creation
JulieBardin
Sound creation
Christophe Danvin,
Jean-François Domingues
Scenography & costumes
Catherine Cosme
Collaboration: Artistic
Paul Moulin
Guillaume Moitessier
General & Stage management
Édouard Ribouillot
Administration/Production
Alice Perot-Hodjis
Fabienne Coulon
When staged
July 2015 (Contre Courant Festival), November 2016, April 2017, May 2017, Touring 2017.
Adèle’s role
Sexy executive & other roles.
Notes
This play was first performed by the troupe at the 2015 Contre Courant Festival as a play reading and then staged by Théâtre de l’Argument as a full production in Paris, and then at many locations around France. All of the reviews I found (& I look far and wide) are extremely positive—they rave about Maïa's direction, about the performances of each of the actors, the music, and all aspects of the production. Maïa's direction clearly brings out the best in her actors.
I have not found any photographs of the play reading at the Festival Contre Courant, but there are photos of the rehearsals before that performance, and photos from later rehearsals and performances.
As has been seen by the films that Adèle had chosen to perform in, for example L’Apollonide (where she met Maïa and Paul), Les Ogres, and 120 Battement Par Minute, she works very well as part of a team, as well as starring in a film alone (for example, La Fille Inconnue & Déchainées).
"Why did you choose to make this piece?
Maïa Sandoz:Already, it is an almost new work, I have never seen it edited. However, his dramaturgy is particularly rich, full of challenges and openings for staging and imagination. And then there is the subject: Mastromas is an allegory of the capitalist world and of neoliberal ideology. The play asks questions about morality and courage, which are very important today. It also has the advantage of not being moralizing."
As with earlier plays that we have looked at, director & actress Maïa Sandoz takes the time to talk to school students about the production and the play. I find this aspect of the theatre group really impressive, as I value education above many things...
A photo of the filming of this interview (wearing a Mansfield.TYA t-shirt)
Article: The Dog Life of Gorge Mastromas
“Even a Caesarized, Adèle Haenel is loyal to the collective L'Argument and embarks on a new creation where the staging is signed Maïa Sandoz. A very collective show where group cohesion takes precedence and works, for a show that tells the story of one man.”
It was clearly a brilliant production—well directed, great performances & great interpretation of the piece.
“…Dennis Kelly gives us a fierce tale about ultraliberalism. The refreshing staging of Maïa Sandoz brings a sacred dose of black humour and what to say about these comedians all amazing, all talented. We let ourselves be tossed in their arms until the final knockout…
Maïa Sandoz musically edited the text with a fragmented structure, where time no longer exists, where the labyrinthine form remains enigmatic. The actors play collectively and well. We can't help but particularly love Adèle Haenel, fierce and rebellious.”
Fabienne Pascaud - Telerama
“A group, seven actors who, like a jet, tell a story. They build, sentence by sentence, the life of Gorge Mastromas, from his conception in 1972 to his almost death - they will have the indecency to abandon this man, who has become monstrous, as he himself has put himself on the fringes of life. The actors, more numerous than the protagonists, are in turn the characters and breathe their souls into them.
…
Very creative, the staging of Maïa Sandoz brings the figure of Mastromas from the group to the intimate, from life turned towards others to total confinement, by light, the progressive reduction in the number of actors on stage, we sink with the man. The beautiful group cohesion comes at the expense of finer work on the psychology of the characters, but the virtuoso game is captivating. The decor, a simple rotating platform is in turn central ring, bedroom, street… Thanks to the light and a few ornaments, Sandoz creates almost cinematographic effects. She manages to make us feel the forest with a little water, soil and some dead leaves quickly placed on the set between two scenes: we believe it.”
“In a few years, Maïa Sandoz has established herself as one of the most interesting personalities in the succession of stage direction… The actors, galvanized, are excellent. Aurélie Vérillon, ideal Tanagra, has a very strong presence and a sense of nuances, passages, quite impressive. Adèle Haenel, whom we had already seen excellent, in the hands of Maïa Sandoz, has the charm and fantasy that are appropriate. The boys too are all committed, daring, free and rigorous at the same time, all of them.
Here everyone goes from an embodied character to a profiteer of narrator, with a childlike virtuosity and a lot of intelligence and sensitivity. The form chosen by Dennis Kelly is very jubilant. But you have to follow.”
"The form is very jubilant (...). The actors, galvanized, are excellent. (...) We laugh a lot."
Le Figaro
"As part of the Charles-Dullin Encounters, the director presents a show as original as exhilarating, a play by Briton Dennis Kelly which tells the story of a man who is followed from his conception to his adulthood, from innocence to cynicism. Eight actors, including Adèle Haenel, are having a great time. In just a few years, Maïa Sandoz has established herself as one of the most interesting personalities in the field of stage direction.
Armelle Héliot-Le Figaro
“Fierce, Dennis Kelly's dark tale takes on a burlesque festive color thanks to the talent of director Maïa Sandoz. Borrowing the codes of a drifting society, mixing genres, she paints a funny and
captivating satire of the modern world dominated by capitalism and ultraliberalism. Worn by an amazing troop and accomplice of actors, this jewel of black humor captivates.
(…)
Energetic, dynamic, the whole owes a lot to the crazy talent of a troupe of actors in tune. All different, they bring their personalities, their flames to the project and seduce us. Obviously, there is the luminous Adèle Haenel. Hoarse voice, animal charm, it fascinates with its elegant and raw presence. But not only ... More discreet, Aurélie Vérillon literally explodes. A little bit of a woman, a veritable ball of nerves, it radiates, communicates warmth, a grace to the whole that bewitches us. Older, gray white hair, Serge Biavan passes with ease from the gruff man to the gentleman. The youngest, Maxime Coggio plays all his roles with accuracy and intensity. He is overwhelming as an indifferent and chilling grandson. Paul Moulin cleverly slips into the skin of an aging Gorge Mastromas, trapped in his lies, trapped in his ivory tower. Gilles Nicolas, silhouette of a dancer, brings a delicate dimension to the whole. As for Christophe Danvin, he gives the “la” to this choral show and his guitar enchants our ears.”
Mediapart
“It is the story of a man and the reflection of a system. A charge against ultra-liberalism which, by means of cynicism and venality, illusions and lies, is capable of killing the humanity which resides in each of us. A choral piece, at the same time funny and cruel, in which the actors of the Company L'Argument give themselves to heart joy in the service of a hectic staging and the dry, relentless and corrosive writing of Dennis Kelly, translated in French by Gérard Watkins. To accompany us, Maïa Sandoz who stages; and one of the actresses, Adèle Haenel who, despite her success in cinema crowned by two César, continues her adventure in the theater. The ritual slaughter of Gorge Mastromas is to be seen until tomorrow November 19, 2016, at the Théâtre-Studio d'Alfortville, then on November 25, 2016, at the Théâtre de Villeparisis, and from April 24 to May 5, 2017 at the Théâtre des quartier d'Ivry.”
