Suddenly there is a knock at the door. While denunciations and raids are rife, Raymond wants to be cautious: he turns off all the lights and tells his team to hide. The merchant, in fact, forgot to validate his inventory request with the authorities. The visitor is called Marcel (Nicolas Martinez). He is a “friend” of Louis. Above all, he is very close to the Gestapo and shamelessly boasts of doing the hunting “to the Youpins”. Besides, he is looking for one who managed to escape.
Paralyzed by fear, the Martineaus have no choice but to be friendly and conciliatory with the newcomer. Only Paulette dares to stand up to him. But man is formidable and feared. And this bad encounter will change everything in one night…
Little by little, the story gains substance.
Big success in Paris, the play by Anthony Michineau, The star merchantsdirected by Julien Alluguette, arrives on January 14 at the Auderghem Cultural Center. If the theme of the Occupation and anti-Semitism has already been addressed on stage many times, Anthony Michineau (awarded for this piece the Best Contemporary Author Prize at the Avignon Off Festival in 2023) manages to stand out by centering his story about the choices, forced or not, that put us on the good or bad side of History. And this, without locking its characters into the boxes of “good guys” or “bad guys”, because everyone seeks, first and foremost, to survive and save their own skin as best they can. In his clear writing, Anthony Michineau paints a portrait of a contrasting France during the 40-45 War.
-In our opinion, the play struggles to get started, because it gets bogged down in the story of banalities between the characters. But little by little, the story gains substance and captivates the public. The six performers are impeccable and also gain in playing power as the plot thickens. The context of Star Traders is certainly trying, but Anthony Michineau took care to always inject humor into counterpoint, which makes it a text accessible to everyone, including the youngest (from 10 years old), and which deserves more than ever , in these times of exacerbated radicalism and populism, to be seen by as many people as possible.
→ Brussels, Auderghem Cultural Center, 1h25, from January 14 to 19. Info and res. at 02.660.03.03 or on https://ccauderghem.be
