Tiago Rodrigues is a prodig(u)e theater man.
At 45, this Portuguese born in Lisbon has a strong CV.
Actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, he created his company, Mundo Perfeito ("Perfect World"), put on around thirty shows, directed the Dona Maria II National Theater, one of the most prestigious halls in the country... Here it is this season in Paris with four shows as part of the Festival d'Automne.
And, in the process, in France, director of the next editions of the Festival d'Avignon.
To read alsoOlivier Py: "A show that lasts thirteen hours... it's tradition, you can only do it at the Avignon Festival"
Miss Figaro. – A word on each piece…
Tiago Rodrigues.
–
To the extent of the impossible (1),
it is documented theater with a journalistic mode of production based on interviews, with poetic manipulation.
It tells a relationship to reality, to current events.
What about
Catarina and the beauty of killing fascists (2)?
It is a political play, which questions violence in democracies, the rise of extremes, but also, and above all, on doubt.
Can we legitimize violence as a democratic tool?
Is tolerance a paradox?
In
Chœur des amants (3),
there are two characters…
It's the story of a couple who tell how love matures.
The play also shows how a couple can become a social project.
Between the Lines (4)
deals with the link between an author and his favorite actor...
Tonan Quito is a very close friend.
What does it mean to write for someone?
I'm not an academic, but I can think about creation, I have the tools to create a little poetic labyrinth.
This play is like a Borgesian tale.
Is the place of the actor therefore central to you?
Yes, because I was an actor before doing shows.
I act with them as I would have liked to be done with me.
By accepting their space for invention.
It's about writing on set…
I write every morning and, in the afternoon, I come up with a proposal for the actors.
The creative process arises from this dialogue with them.
The creative process arises from this dialogue with my actors
Tiago Rodrigues
You are the new director of Avignon, the first foreigner at its head...
The choice of a foreign artist speaks more about French society and the French Republic than about me.
Being Portuguese was not an obstacle.
But I measure that it is not only one of the biggest festivals of theater and living arts.
Running Avignon is important for arts and culture in France.
What can you already say?
The Festival is 75 years old and has a heritage.
Each director has the duty to interpret this score.
His DNA?
An improbable marriage: the presentation of demanding forms within the framework of a utopian project of popular theatre.
Jean Vilar's idea lives on.
Making easy access to difficult things is important in a world where the simplification of public discourse is a risk, this simplification linked to extremism.
The Avignon Festival is the ideal place to invent the future
Tiago Rodrigues
A festival steeped in history…
History, theatre… It's the ideal place to invent the future and, in this post-pandemic period, it can also be a research laboratory.
Another project?
For four years, we will invite a language: in 2023, it will be English.
From Avignon, when you look at the world, it is not divided into nationalities, rather into languages.
More fluid, they may have a geographical source, but tell a story.
And we're here to build bridges, no pun intended...
(1) In the measure of the impossible, from September 20 to October 14, at the Théâtre de l'Odéon, in Paris.
theatre-odeon.eu
(2)Catarina and the beauty of killing fascists, from October 7 to 30, and (3)Chœur des amants, from October 8 to 29, at the Bouffes du Nord, in Paris.
bouffesdunord.com
(4)Between the lines, from November 23 to December 17, at the Athénée, in Paris.
athenee-theatre.com