Story#13 Back on stage
Thierry, on stage
‘Storiesofhope’ allows me to meet new people and I am so happy that the first post of the New Year goes back to one of the initial stories.
Thierry was my story#7, but I was the second person I met in April 2021 in Nice, South of France.
During our conversation, I learned from him about one of his plays, designed to be performed in private houses and apartments during the first lockdown: theatres were closed and the possibility to perform in front of spectators, was to bring the shows in private houses (or gardens, or private areas).
But then, as we know, also this opportunity was precluded and for actors was impossible to perform, apart from live-streaming and via internet.
Neverthertheless, Thierry, like many other artists, started thinking of his following projects, theatre for children, new plays, and other new ideas.
One of these was the adaptation for the theatre of his play initially designed for apartments. « Qui va là ?" run here in Paris last December at the Theo Theatre, a small theatre but particularly suitable for this very play.
Founded in 1995, Theo Theatre creates an opportunity to showcase innovative projects and promote the work of young artists.
Thierry kindly invited me to visit him during one of his performances.
I join him right before the show to experience the setting up and to live the moment right before the show: the play is a 'one-man show' and doesn't require much equipment or furniture. But still, there is preparation, concentration and setting up (lights; perspective; materials).
'Qui va là' is a story, written by Emmanuel Darleyn, of an ordinary man. He sits next to the spectators, waiting for the show to start. Realising that the actors are late, he takes the stage and begins his journey on his memories, looking back in time and imagining the scene as his family's apartment. He evokes his childhood, describes his mother and re-imagines his life, entering into a personal dialogue with the spectators.
"Qui va là?" is an intimate play where Thierry shines in bringing the different sentiments and emotions. His storytelling captures the public in a crescendo of emotions.
It is so good to witness and tell stories that come true and become life. That is why I started this project after all.
“See you at your next show, Thierry!”
STORIES of HOPE. Simple stories of ordinary people that carry a message of hope, a fragment of future. I have been meeting incredible people, that transmit energy, passion, engagement. I talk to them and try to find their message of hope.
