“On stage, their words are freed, they heal together”

There are five of them. Alsatian women who went through the war, experienced love, work, and saw society evolve. Their memories are awakened on stage in the show Fraweländle. Between extreme gravity and liberating momentum of life.

What remains at the end of your life when you are over 90? This is the question that Isabelle Klein asked five Alsatian women. Not in such a direct way, but by talking at length with each of them. Ultimately, hours of recording. Like a great diary which was written throughout their stories and whose pages now parade on stage.

Their words intersect and respond to each other. Thanks to the theater, the five women meet. The show Fraweländle reveals their “secret garden”. Traumas and prides that they share.

There is of course the war which marked their existence. The youngest were seven years old when it broke out. The oldest were teenagers. Marinette, born in 1924, recounts her destiny as Despite-Elles. Yvonne remembers the chocolate brought by the Americans at the Liberation. “Et des chewing-gums !”Violette adds.

I had a fantasy, to make them talk about this past that we no longer know, about “it was better before”. But they are very happy with the progress.

Isabelle Klein

Author of the show Fraweländle

“All of them are very proud to have worked. At least, before having a husband and children. It kept coming up: work, work, work, indicates Isabelle Klein, author of the show and actress. I had a fantasy, to make them talk about this past that we no longer know, about « it was better before »in terms of nature, the environment… But they are very happy with the progress. My questions sometimes fell a little short.” she smiled again.

Yvonne, 90 years old at the time of the interviews, barely allowed herself to speak about the difficulty of being a farmer. “So you know how hard we had to workshe confides. Today, all you have to do is press a button and the tractor starts moving. Same for all machines. We had to milk by hand. We had to buy tractors. And as soon as one was reimbursed, another machine failed. she still seems to be in pain.

This daughter and wife of farmers, a little overwhelmed by the show project to which she partly gave birth, has some strong words: “I will marry the man again, but not the peasant !”

Pragmatic women: “They are true Alsatians, with resilience and modesty, preferring to talk about what they did rather than how they felt, about what happened rather than how they experienced it.”

On the boards, they free themselves. They sing, indulge in bursts of laughter, let their fears be felt. They end up forming only one heart, the soul of the Alsatian woman. As if awakened by the sound of the accordion: “Music heals them. With music, they heal, they dare talk. Music enhances their lives”insists Anne Goepp, the assistant director.

An unexpected qi gong session follows the story of daily life under the German occupation. The dramatic intensity is served as much by the content as by the form. Isabelle Klein installs the actresses in a sort of dream retirement home, where the magic happens. She invented the character of a caring nurse-therapist, played by the artist Sherley Freudenreich. HAS through her paintings, which are displayed in real time on a screen at the back of the stage, the illustrator accompanies and encourages the journey of the five women at the same time as she takes the audience into their stories.

He relives their torments and their joys. Sometimes unexpected moments, like this improvised slam, inspired by a sketch once written by one of the protagonists, Paulette Becker, former director of the Alsatian theater of Saverne. “I wanted to enter into their intimacy, so I wanted them to share their poems, the songs they love…”explains Isabelle Klein. Works that adorn the show.

One of the women, Marie-Thérèse Schaeffer, died in 2023. For her children and grandchildren, Fraweländle is a heritage, a part of their identity card. A fitting tribute also to the one who made them who they are. His words and those of others are now fixed for eternity. Sometimes shed light on a bygone time, sometimes more relevant than ever.

Words that grab you no matter what: “We go to the theater, we attend the show, we let ourselves be drawn in, and when we leave, we feel a little lighter. It’s catharsis”concludes author Isabelle Klein.

This moving creation, presented for the first time in February 2024, will be performed on December 18 at the Tanzmatten in Sélestat (8:30 p.m.) and on January 30, 2025 at the Espace Rohan in Saverne (8:30 p.m.).