May 29, 30, 31 & June 1 at 7 p.m.
Duration: 1 h 15
Théâtre Rouge
In French
May 30: Meet the artists after the performance
Conservatoire d'art dramatique
Regular Price: 28$
25 and under, 65 and over: 21$
Photos
Cendres
Pétrus
Montréal
Beyond misery lies the human being. Beyond massacres and catastrophes is the human being. That is what interests Jérémie Niel – the everyday reality of horror, the reality of victims often unaware of what is happening beyond their immediate space. An old man, accompanied by his grandson, has come to tell his son that everyone in their village is dead. Director Jérémie Niel and filmmaker Denis Côté, two freethinking radical artists, have transformed Earth and Ashes by the Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi (Prix Goncourt 2008 for Syngué Sabour) into Cendres, allowing the silence and the words of the survivors to resonate in the bare space of the theatre. A pure, tragic piece, Cendres is an eye-opening work that raises awareness. Confronted with a man in a time of crisis, the play imposes its slowness, its humanity and its formal demands. Cendres grabs hold of the imperceptible and gives voice to the unmentionable.
Jérémie Niel
Jérémie Niel has previously staged powerful works by contemporary authors such as Sergi Belbel, Pascal Rambert, Heiner Müller and Martin Crimp. In 2007 he presented Son visage soudain exprimant de l’intérêt, based on texts by Franz Xaver Kroetz and Philippe Ducros, and also Tentatives (which he wrote and directed). In autumn 2009 he directed JeneconnaispasClichymaisjem’ensuisfaitbeaucoup-declichés by Emmanuel Schwartz as part of the Chroniques trilogy, with Alice Ronfard and Emmanuel Schwartz directing the other two pieces. He studied directing at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Montréal, and also studied at the HEC business school. An administrator for a number of arts organizations and assistant artistic director at La Chapelle, he founded the Pétrus theatre company in 2004. Here Rahimi’s tale, written in the second person singular, is given flesh and blood form but the characters find it difficult to speak in the first person, as their inner selves are occupied by others
Press Quote(s)
Tentatives by Jérémie Niel
«La démarche de Niel est précieuse parce qu'elle est rare, parce qu'elle porte attention à toutes ces choses que l'on ne remarque plus, aux demi‐vérités et aux demi‐mensonges, à ces fantômes, tendres ou cruels, qui habitent nos moments de silence. »
Christian Saint‐Pierre, Voir.ca, mars 2009
« … il y a là une démarche artistique singulière, une franche remise en question de la forme théâtrale par le biais d'influences cinématographiques et chorégraphiques.»
Philippe Couture, Voir.ca, mars 2009
Son visage soudain exprimant de l’intérêt based on texts by Franz Xaver Kroetz and Philippe Ducros
« Jérémie Niel a fait preuve d’audace en mettant en scène ces deux textes. Le résultat est un objet complexe et original, sans longueur malgré l’absence de mots. »
Sylvie St‐Jacques, La Presse, février 2007
« … on ne pénétrerait pas aussi aisément ces replis de l’âme sans l’efficace technique sonore du metteur en scène Jérémie Niel. »
Daphnée Angiolini, Voir, février 2007
« La mise en scène de Jérémie Niel […] est un petit bijou, à la fois originale et esthétique. […] Une réussite sur tous les plans »
Aurélie Olivier, www.montheatre.qc.ca, février 2007
La campagne by Martin Crimp
« Inquiétantes au possible, les ambiances de ce spectacle sont dignes d’un film de David Lynch. […] Saisissant. Il faut réclamer une reprise. »
Ève Dumas, La Presse, mai 2005
Credit
Produced by Pétrus
Based on the novel Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi
Adapted and Directed by Jérémie Niel
With Marc Beaupré + Pascal Contamine + Raoul Fortier-Mercier + Bernard Meney + Georges Molnar + Igor Ovadis + Yves Trudel
Filmmaker: Denis Côté
Lighting Design: Régis Guyonnet
Sound Design: Alexandre St-Onge
Set Design: Simon Guilbault
Costume Design: Fruzsina Lànyi
Coproduction Festival TransAmériques + La Chapelle
Redaction: Stéphane Lépine
Traduction: Neil Kroetsch