MEETINGS AT EXTRA

Monologue of a man living alone in his house for years.
He no longer knows how old he is — and it no longer matters. He does not occupy the whole house — and that no longer matters either. A small corner is enough for what he has to do : collect his memories.
Gradually stripped of his memory, he tries to recover everything, to preserve everything. Tonight, the Man is preparing to summon the image of his mother, who died when he was still a child. She died at the age when he himself will no longer have any memory left.
If he can recover the important memories of his story — the ones that prove his presence in the world was not in vain — perhaps he will be able to negotiate and avoid losing everything. To do so, he must determine what, objectively, is worthy of interest in his life.
As he waits to be ready for his mother’s arrival, an invisible and silent group enters the house : negative projections of his past, to whom he chooses to confide his quest and his chosen solitude.
When the mother finally arrives — a sickly, almost inert ghostly figure — it is no longer a matter of negotiating, but of trying to create an impossible connection. The projections are only mirages, which he ultimately allows to fade away so he can continue his work and immerse himself in his memories.
It is a play about the ghosts in our lives and our relationship to them : how we carry them with us, and how we build ourselves with or against them.

“When you start a collection, you never know where it will take you.
I collect caves. It’s no small undertaking, because I realized there are cavities absolutely everywhere. I keep going deeper and deeper into my cave collection. And I search — for origins. I don’t know why, but I search. I’m looking for my rare pearl.
And in the end, I found it. The craziest thing is that I always knew it was there, but I had grown used to forgetting its presence. It’s my father Jean-Luc’s cave. We’re going down into it. Stay calm and alert as we proceed; wearing a helmet is mandatory. Risk of falling.”
— Elsa Delmas

An international award that recognizes and supports performing arts creators who are committed to freedom and courage. The ceremony will also feature a tribute to the leading figure of the Velvet Revolution on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of his birth.

DOUZE – Diane Chavelet – full reading featuring Mélodie Adda, Valérian Geay, Anne Le Guernec and Victor Pitoiset
(Preceded by an excerpt from THE WORLD IS BURNING AND I'M BUYING NIKE, written and performed by Anturia Soilihi)
Performed readings presented as part of the .Q (for Queer) Programme, in partnership with ARTCENA, the French National Centre for Circus Arts, Street Arts and Theatre.
A., a 15-year-old high school student, is murdered by Pierre, one of her classmates, for having “rejected his advances.” Her body is found bearing twenty-seven stab wounds, twelve of which were inflicted after her death. The perpetrator is released five years after his conviction.
Based on a true story—the 2016 femicide of Alexia Silva Costa on the island of Oléron—the play unfolds in twelve cantos, giving voice to someone who can no longer be heard.
DOUZE and THE WORLD IS BURNING AND I'M BUYING NIKE are recipients of the National Grant for the Creation of Dramatic Texts awarded by ARTCENA.
This morning session will be preceded and/or followed by coffee and an opportunity to meet the artists.
More information: www.progq.com