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Ça ira (1) Fin de Louis

Joël Pommerat, Compagnie Louis Brouillard

The French Revolution is in full swing. The country is paralysed by an economic crisis, fear, xenophobia and increasing bouts of violence. In the theatre, a group of parliamentarians convene to debate the bedrock of their new society: democracy. Making his Dutch debut at the Holland Festival, the French director Joël Pommerat is known in his native country for his gripping, topical theatre productions. In Ça ira (1) Fin de Louis, his crowning achievement so far, Pommerat explores how the French Revolution laid the foundations for the modern Europe. Making its history as relevant and urgent as the politics and revolutions of our own time, he turns political theatre into meaningful drama. Programme

The festival’s opening performance by Estonian directors Ene-Liis Semper and Tiit Ojasoo Die Stunde da wir nichts voneinander wußten shows the diversity and tensions of modern Europe. And in their film Ash and Money they focus on the phenomenon of political populism. Directors Milo Rau (The Dark Ages), Joël Pommerat (Ça ira (1) Fin de Louis), Wael Shawky (Cabaret Crusades: The Secrets of Karbala) and Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha delve into Europe’s past, exploring the effect of some of its history’s darkest chapters. From the heart of Europe, the collective God’s Entertainment stages a test about chauvinism, which is causing the European dream of unity to falter. The Dutch theatre company Wunderbaum responds to European issues in its project The New Forest. A large Syrian orchestra for Arabic music will reunite for a special concert in Africa Express Presents… The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians with Damon Albarn and Guests. Artists may not be able to change the world, but they can change the way we look at it.

 

During the first six months of this year the Netherlands holds the Presidency of the European Union. But what is left of the dream of European unity? At the Holland Festival international artists present a series of performances focusing on current European issues and exploring this changing continent.

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dates

Sat June 11 2016 7:00 PM

Sun June 12 2016 2:00 PM

information

  • French

  • Duration of performance unknown (twee korte pauzes)

related

In his latest play Ça ira (1) Fin de Louis French director and theatremaker Joël Pommerat dives into the history of the French Revolution. His story is based on the events of 1789, when the French people overthrew the monarchy and took matters into their own hands. What drove these individuals to rise en masse against the power of the king?

In his latest play Ça ira (1) Fin de Louis French director and theatremaker Joël Pommerat dives into the history of the French Revolution. His story is based on the events of 1789, when the French people overthrew the monarchy and took matters into their own hands. What drove these individuals to rise en masse against the power of the king?

What were the consequences for them, for their country and for Europe?

 

Pommerat has described Ça ira as a dive into the heart of a political and human history which laid the foundations of contemporary society. His focus is on the process of what makes ordinary people, individuals, unleash a revolution. To him, that's much more interesting than the familiar story of the famous leaders of the revolution.

 

'The issues at hand are incendiary in 2015,' wrote the Financial Times in its review of the 4 hour-long play. 'Austerity, investors fleeing the country, the legitimacy of a government acting against its people’s wishes (…) Ça ira has the allure of a canary in the coal mine that is currently Europe. The only worry is that too few people will see it.

Joël Pommerat, who formed his Compagnie Louis Brouillard in 1990, sees the theatre as a place to explore and experience life. According to him, nothing is set in stone; our outlook on the world is in large part determined by our imagination, our views and beliefs. As a result, the Compagnie Louis Brouillard focus on perceptions in their performances, those of the actors as well as the audience. Themes such as politics and innermost feelings frequently recur, because Pommerat sees them as part of life – people do not know the boundaries, the origins and the limits, of the world they're put; they're always in the dark. At the same time, it's the dark which allows the imagination to emerge, and it's the imagination which is at the centre of Pommerat's work. His performances are intimate yet spectacular, rich with images and sensations, music, sound, light and dark. From the uncertain darkness which is at the core of every scene, light is cast on our existence – until a new darkness falls.

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credits

a performance by Joël Pommerat set, light Eric Soyer costume, image research Isabelle Deffin sound design François Leymarie, Grégoire Leymarie dramaturgy, direction Marion Boudier artistic collaboration Marie Piemontese, Philippe Carbonneaux assistence David Charier assistant mise en scène Lucia Trotta historic advice Guillaume Mazeau technical director Emmanuel Abate construction decor Thomas Ramon/Artom, les ateliers de Nanterre-Amandiers light direction Julien Chatenet, Gwendal Malard sound direction Grégoire Leymarie dressers Siegrid Petit-Imbert, Lise Crétiaux with Saadia Bentaïeb, Jean-Pierre Costanziello, Agnès Berthon, Mathieu Mironnet, Yannick Choirat, Pierre-Yves Le Borgne, Éric Feldman, Philippe Frécon, Yvain Juillard, Anthony Moreau, Ruth Olaizola, Gérard Potier, Anne Rotger, David Sighicelli, Maxime Tshibangu, Simon Verjans, Bogdan Zamfi production Compagnie Louis Brouillard coproduction Nanterre-Amandiers, Centre Dramatique National, Le MANEGE-MONS, Capitale européenne de la Culture, Théâtre National/Bruxelles, ESACT/Liège, Mostra Internacional de Teatro/Sao Paulo, Holland Festival, MC2/Maison de la Culture de Grenoble, La Filature, Théâtre du Nord/CDN Lille-Tourcoing-Nord-Pas-de-Calais, FACM/Festival théâtral du Val d’Oise, L’apostrophe/Scène nationale de Cergy-Pontoise et du Val d’Oise, Centre National des Arts/Ottawa, Le Rive Gauche/Scène conventionnée de St Etienne du Rouvray, Bonlieu/Scène nationale d’Annecy, Théâtre de Loire-Atlantique/Nantes, Espace Malraux/Scène nationale de Chambéry et de la Savoie, Le Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, Le Volcan – scène nationale du Havre, Théâtre National Populaire, Célestins – Théâtre de Lyon with the support of SACD

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