La Bande Passante (France)
VIES DE PAPIER
SÃO LUIZ TEATRO MUNICIPAL- Sala Mário Viegas
25 and 26 May at 7pm (Sat, Sun)
Portuguese premiere
Technique: Documentary object theatre Language: French, with Portuguese subtitles For audiences over: +11 Running time: 75 min.
Apesentation support: Institut Français du Portugal
This show came about by accident. One day, at a flea market in Brussels, Benoît Faivre and Tommy Laszlo came across a strange document: a family photo album, superbly decorated and in excellent condition. The photos portrayed the memories of a woman born in Germany in 1933, from her childhood to her marriage in Belgium. Who was this person named Christa? Why did our two artists immediately feel intimately linked to the album? How did the fate of this immigrant recall the path of each of their grandmothers? This was the start of a vast investigation. The artists crossed Europe to question Second World War experts, genealogists and their own families.
Here they are, before us on stage, to recreate the steps of this long-running investigation. They play the role of themselves and use the images of this album, videos and geographical maps. Close ties and surprising coincidences emerge. Little by little, like a dotted outline, the portrait of an unknown woman and that of a Europe still scarred by the last World War, appears. Vies de Papier (Paper Lives) give visible substance to the inextricable links between personal history and History "with an H for hatchet", as writer Georges Perec used to say.
In this performance, Benoît Faivre and Tommy Laszlo question the process which transforms the past into a memory: what do we choose to see, to keep, to accept or to flee?
"Thanks to a clever staging, the show blends photos of the life of their heroine with the film of their investigation (...) and a two-voice story on stage, where our own family history finds an unexpected echo. Overwhelming!" - Thierry Voisin, Télérama TTT
"Sensitive and moving, well performed and very intelligent, a nugget not to be missed." - Mathieu Dochtermann, ToutelaCulture
"The staging is highly clever and played with talent and extreme accuracy by two impressive artists (...). This unique performance is definitely not to be missed." - Isabelle Arnaud, Unification
BIO
Benoît Faivre, a Jack-of-all trades who has a passion for history, founded La Bande Passante in 2007. After two plays in the form of object theatre, Compléments d’Objets and Cockpit Cuisine, he teamed up with Tommy Laszlo in 2014, and they initiated a cycle of shows and installations revolving around paper: Mondes de Papier [Paper Worlds]. With Vies de Papier [Paper Lives], created in 2017, Benoît Faivre and Tommy Laszlo take us on an ever-more detailed exploration of time and memory, real and recounted. Based in Moselle, the company performs across France and Europe, in particular at the World Puppet Theatre Festival (Charleville-Mézières), the International Biennial of Puppetry Arts (Paris), the FIGUMA festival (Belgium), the Neuchatel Puppet Festival (Switzerland), in Luxembourg and Germany.
CREDITS
Artistic direction and performers: Benoît Faivre, Tommy Laszlo Technical direction: Marie-Jeanne Assayag-Lion Writing and direction: Benoît Faivre, Kathleen Fortin, Pauline Jardel, Tommy Laszlo Outside eye: Kathleen Fortin Photography: Pauline Jardel Music: Gabriel Fabing Light: Marie-Jeanne Assayag-Lion Costumes: Daniel Trento Technic and construction: Marie-Jeanne Assayag-Lion, David Gallaire, Thierry Mathieu, Daniel Trento Set design construction: La Boîte à Sel Production direction: Claire Girod Production assistant: Aurélie Burgun Coproduction: Théâtre Gérard-Philipe, Scène Conventionnée de Frouard, MarionNEttes - Festival International de Neuchâtel (Suíça), Centre Culturel André-Malraux, Scène Nationale de Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, La Méridienne, Scène Conventionnée de Lunéville, Espace Jéliote, Scène Conventionnée Marionnette d’Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Le Carreau, Scène Nationale de Forbach et de l’Est Mosellan, Mil Tamm, Projet Culturel du Pays de Pontivy, T-Werk Potsdam, Le Sablier, Pôle des Arts de la Marionnette en Normandie - Ifs/ Dives-sur-Mer, Moselle Arts Vivants, La Ville de Bruxelles / Nuit Blanche, La Ville de Metz (Services Patrimoine, Archives, Médiathèques), Metz Métropole (Musée de la Cour d’Or) Support: Le Mouffetard - Théâtre des Arts de la Marionnette, L’Arc, Scène Nationale du Creusot, Festival Perspectives. The script is the winner of the Commission Nationale d’Aide à la Création de Textes Dramatiques - ARTCENA / Mention Dramaturgies Plurielles, Aide à la Production Dramatique - DRAC Grand-Est, Aide à la Résidence DRAC Grand-Est / Agence Culturelle d’Alsace. La Bande Passante is supported by the Région Grand Est 2017-2019 Acknowledgements: Ville de Metz