At just 19 years old, Flavian is one of the actors in the show staged in Dieppe (Seine-Maritime) by the Rouen-based troupe of the Marilù collective and entitled "J'avais 13 ans... ». It was a unique experience for the young man, who agreed to testify about the bullying he suffered at school in middle school. Without really, at the time, putting into words what he was going through.
"I said I was getting fucked up. That it was heckling. And I didn't talk about it too much, neither at home nor to my teachers... As the months went by, he isolated himself and struggled academically, until his anger pushed him to react, which led to disciplinary problems. "If I agreed to participate in this show, it was to make a difference. Those who are being bullied, but also adults who don't always know how to react, can better understand what is going on."
At the origin of the project, a meeting between the leaders of the local Dieppe - Côte d'Albâtre mission and the director, Margot Tramontana. "With the Marilù collective, we are interested in the journeys of people who don't often have a voice. And we use their testimony, which we take the time to collect, as raw material to create a show in which they then become the actors, in their own words. »
A work that has already allowed her to explore the daily lives of young people from working-class neighborhoods or that of women who have found themselves on the margins of society. This time, it is the tormented lives of four teenagers, two boys – Flavian and Louis – and two girls – Elodie and Naëva – who were victims of bullying during a good part of their schooling.
"For my part, even though I obviously suffered during this period, I talked about it very quickly," says Louis, who is now 25 years old. "What's hard to understand is why you're being harassed. I was probably too different... But above all, what is difficult to hear is when we are told that we are exaggerating, that it has always existed, that it is the school of life. It's a strange vision of a school where beatings and bullying are formative.
"I think that if we have all agreed to participate, it is because we hope to make things change at our level," he continues, aware that there is still a long way to go. Even if time can sometimes favor an awakening, as in the case of this other witness who agreed to give himself up, he who was once ... a stalker. "It allows us to have a counterpoint and to establish a dialogue to better understand the process that takes place in such a situation," explains Margot Tramontana, who salutes the courage it took her to acknowledge her mistakes and accept to confront the public.
For the Local Mission, this piece is the culmination of a long-term work begun many months ago with about fifteen young people, some of whom are also participating in their own way in this creation. "Initially, we realized that many of those who came to us with integration or training difficulties had experienced harassment in their careers. And that they weren't always aware of it," explains one of the managers of the structure, which has set up several initiatives on the subject. Four performances are already scheduled and more are expected to follow.
"I was 13 years old... ", Friday, November 10 at 13:30 p.m. and 20 p.m. at the Camille Saint-Saëns Conservatory in Dieppe (Seine-Maritime), Tuesday, November 14 at 14 p.m. at the Drakkar in Neuville-lès-Dieppe and Thursday, November 16 at 20 p.m. at the Casino de Dieppe. Free admission on reservation at 06 84 32 87 74.