On stage, twelve women and one man, twelve mothers and wives and a bailiff, ordered to remain silent during the deliberations. Twelve women who have in their hands the power of life or death of a young 21-year-old servant, Sally Poppy, accused of the murder of a little girl in her care. The Firmamentdirected by Chloé Dabert, is presented at the Théâtre du Rond-point until Tuesday February 18.
We are in rural England in March 1759, between Norfolk and Suffolk. Sally Poppy is sentenced to hang unless she proves she is pregnant. Outside, the crowd roars, demands revenge and demands their spectacle. And it is up to the twelve women, therefore, to decide. The closed session does not go without recalling Twelve angry men by Sidney Lumet but of course the themes covered differ: Lizzy, a midwife, has other battles to fight. The Firmament, adapted from the eponymous work by Lucy Kirkwood, is a piece with drawers.
In a minimalist, refined setting, the jurors will confront each other, engaging intimately in an atmosphere whose tension is skilfully maintained, but interrupted from time to time by saving touches of humor, which act as breathers. These women, who have finally put aside their chores and other household tasks, discover the power, usually reserved only for men. At first, they are eager to get it over with before seizing this opportunity to talk about their daily lives, recount their suffering. Will sorority be there? Certainties waver, cracks appear, gaping.
In this social and political fresco, little by little, determinism, patriarchy, class struggle and the death penalty are intelligently questioned. Lizzy, played by Bénédicte Cerutti, all in tension, almost on the verge of breaking up, fights for life, tries to save Sally Poppy, played by Andréa El Azan, who does not make her task easy by showing herself to be temperamental and repulsive. his tenderness.
Chloé Dabert’s direction is extremely effective. And the use of video, a practice sometimes widespread to excess in live performance, proves relevant. We enter into the intimacy of these women who endlessly repeat domestic gestures, such as churning butter or washing laundry. And by finding themselves on a popular jury, locked in a room, they achieve a status that they never hoped for, nor wanted. Inside/outside, submission/rebellion, they will reveal themselves.
The play is full of twists and turns, leaving little respite for the audience. Chloé Dabert creates incisive, original work with a strong resonance with current events.
-Titre : The Firmament
Text : Lucy Kirkwood
Translation : Louise Bartlett
Staging: Chloe Dabert
Distribution : Elsa Agnès (Mary Middleton), Sélène Assaf (Helen Ludlow), Sarah Calcine (Hannah Rusted), Bénédicte Cerutti (Elizabeth Luke), Gwenaëlle David (Sarah Hollis), Brigitte Dedry (Sarah Smith), Olivier Dupuy (the bailiff), Andréa El Azan (Sally Poppy), Sébastien Éveno (the judge), Aurore Fattier (Emma Jenkins), Anne-Lise Heimburger (Charlotte Cary), Juliette Launay (Ann Lavender), Samantha Le Bas (Kitty Givens), Asma Messaoudene (Peg Carter), Océane Mozas (Judith Brewer), Arthur Verret (the husband / the doctor)
Dates : until January 18, 2025
Duration : 2h45 including 20 minutes intermission
Lieu : Théâtre du Rond-point, 2 bis avenue Franklin Roosevelt, 75008 Paris
