The screen behind the stage of the Artistic Athévains indicates:
“
Le Cid
is a play
written by Corneille
in 1637, at the time of Louis XIII, which tells a story of love and war set long before, in 1207 ...We won't tell you the rest.
»
Anne-Marie Lazarini, the director of the place, herself welcomes the second and first year students.
They are attentive to discover a brilliant, almost educational adaptation of the famous tragicomedy revised by Frédérique Lazarini.
“Rodrigue, do you have a heart?
»
asks him his father, old Don Diegue (Philippe Lebas) who charges him with avenging his honor.
He has just been given a slap in the face by Don Gomes (Cédric Colas), the father of Chimène, his son's fiancée.
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Everyone knows the story of the famous Cornelian choice.
Having come to the theater early, the students were prepared.
“Reduced to the sad choice of either betraying my love/ Or living as an infamous person/ On both sides my evil is infinite,”
laments Rodrigue, sword in hand.
“My passion opposes my resentment/ Inside my enemy I find my lover,”
Chimène, proud and rebel against patriarchal authority, seems to respond.
The imaginative Frédérique Lazarini cut scenes and obscured characters like the Infanta to tighten the intrigue around the young nobleman and the woman he loves.
The piece only lasts an hour and a half: it passes like a dream.
Also read: Jean Serroy: “Corneille is the only playwright who can be compared to Shakespeare”
Arthur Guézennec plays Rodrigue with a passion and panache that delights the audience.
Chimène has the soft features and slim waist of Lara Tavella.
Elvire, Chimène's governess, is played by the delicate Guillaume Veyre.
Don Sanche, Chimène's other suitor, is played without fail by Quentin Gratias.
The young prince is represented by an elegant puppet manipulated with skill.
The heartbreaks of the protagonists are illustrated by force of duels orchestrated by Lionel Fernandez, a high-flying fencer, noticed in
Le Cid
, by Thomas Le Douarec.
We believe in !
Hostile atmosphere
Majestic in beautifully crafted costumes and without the aid of a microphone - which is increasingly rare - they all say Corneille's alexandrines distinctly.
Spectators find themselves whispering in the dark:
“And the fight stopped for lack of fighters.
»
The music of Jean-Sébastien Bach and François Peyrony creates a hostile atmosphere on the stage as reflective as a François Cabanat mirror.
The lovers take turns placing candles along a strip of lights.
Frédérique Lazarini exploits the smallest space of the Artistic Athévains theater, from the room with the hangers, which an exalted and victorious Rodrigue walks through, returning from combat.
The audience is carried away by the feeling of living an exciting adventure that will make them laugh too.
Quiet.
Le Cid
, at the Artistic Athévains (Paris 9th).
Res.
: 01 43 56 38 32. www.artistictheatre.com