|
ALAIN
PLATEL
Alain
Platel has pursued an artistic career, rather than a profession
or a craft. He is a unique personality, and has no parallel
in the world of dance and theatre. His work as a social educator
has led him to be deeply concerned with the human condition
in his native region: East and West Flanders, and Ghent in
particular. He is able to communicate, without artificiality
or affectation, all the anxieties, contradictions, desperation,
dreams and drives of a fascinating and tragic young generation
that he truly empathises with. His productions, from "Bonjour
Madame..." to "Tous des Indiens', have been staged
throughout Europe, despite the fact that they are (or precisely
because they are) completely rooted in the life of the Flemish
suburbs. This only goes to show that, by freely combining
theatre, music and dance in the "family portraits"
he renders so well, Alain Platel has succeeded in revealing
the universality of the human soul.
|
|
Heiner
Goebbels
Beginning
in the mid-80's, Heiner Goebbels has managed to reinvent musical
theater. Composer, director, musical arranger and playwright
all wrapped up into one, Goebbels has worked with actors,
singers, musicians, writers, artists and set designers from
all over the world. His "Konzeptionelles Komponieren",
constructed using Heiner Muller's dialectic, Gertrude Stein's
audacious linguistic constructions, pop music and philosophical
tracts, allow the spectator to see the music, hear the space
and experience the text with polished simplicity. Acoustic
and visual elements are not merely juxtaposed in their on-stage
associations but linked together by a multiplicity of inter-relationships.
To accomplish this, the divining rod of a sense of humor serves
as a necessary tool in his search for their very essence.
Goebbels is one of the most important representatives of international
music and avant-garde theater, with an evocative aesthetic
that is simultaneously unmistakable and inexhaustible.
MICHEL
PICCOLI
Michel Piccoli began his career on the stage - his Don Juan
remains celebrated - before crossing to the "other shore",
the cinema, finally coming to accept the relativity of travelling
back and forth between the two and taking full advantage of
their potential interaction.
Piccoli captivates us because he is halfway between the clearly
defined identity of the film actor and the ductile identity
of the stage actor. When Bondy, Brook, and Chéreau
turned to him, despite his reputation as a cinema performer,
it was undoubtedly because of this receptiveness and adaptability.
He was not trapped by an image, but brought a unique presence.
He was also ready to take on an unprecedented variety of roles,
which took him from Schnitzler to Chekhov and Pirandello,
from Shakespeare to Koltès. The film actor was able
of step back and make way for his double, the stage actor.
What is it that we love about Piccoli? The fact that he is
an artist who has lasted over time without turning into an
effigy… he provides certainty and maintains a hidden
dimension. The light does not expel the shadow, which always
accompanies the brilliance of the legendary actor that he
is. There is nothing one-dimensional about him.
Michel Piccoli is a European figure. In him we do not see
so much an international star unaware of borders, but an open-minded
actor who strives to cross them. A free citizen, he does not
want to become a prisoner and his whole life bears witness
to this unquenched desire to go beyond limits. National as
well as artistic limits.
Michel Piccoli refuses civil indifference. He has never lacked
commitment, and has always taken sides and got involved. His
ethic is constant, whether as an actor or as a citizen .
If he is taken as a model, it is always despite himself. He
is not a hero who puts himself on display. More than anyone
else, Piccoli has managed to maintain his humanity. A vibrant
humanity that continues to guide his actions and his words.
Michel Piccoli is an exemplary actor, responsible towards
himself and towards his art.
|
