She enters through a back door, crosses the room with her six suitcases to settle on the stage. Ariane Ascaride, “born in Marseille on October 10 in the last century under the double sign of Libra”carries her memories with her. She hangs them on a washing line, along her show Touched by fairiesat La Scala, from Tuesday January 14.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a communist, Stalinist, Neapolitan, Marseille father who is fond of opera and theater and who listens to the Red Army Choir every Sunday morning. The actress looks back with great sincerity and tenderness on her childhood and youth. She, the fada, touched by the fairies, a girl apart, not quite like the others. His life was intimately and early linked to the theater. His life here becomes a play written by Marie Desplechin and directed and choreographed by Thierry Thieû Niang. A play in several acts, some bright, others darker, all told, entrusted to the public with kindness.
At the La Scala theater in Paris, Ariane Ascaride has carte blanche for four shows, including Touched by fairies. She played, with great joy, Gisèle Halimi in this same theater. In her latest show, Ariane Ascaride tells her own story, her life before fame, before Marius and Jeannette. It is overwhelming, sometimes joyful, sometimes profound.
His childhood was marked by a somewhat fickle father and a silent mother. His parents speak little, do not speak to each other. There are silences louder than screams. “It looks like Édouard Louis ?” No, not really. The actress, with a dance step, a gesture, a look, a sentence that hits the spot every time, transcends painful moments. The actress is very generous, giving herself completely.
Funny moments, pierced by fits of laughter, like this hilarious marriage proposal from Robert Guédiguian, Ariane Ascaride has a lot to share. Bursts of laughter that sweep away the pain or obstacles of life. The audience remains suspended, fascinated by the performance of the young 70-year-old actress. He follows, rather accompanies, a friend during this hour-long autobiographical walk. Because Ariane Ascaride has created a unique bond with the public over time, she is a kind knowledge, a reassuring presence. And then “She’s here for eternity.” Better, “she is eternity.”
Text : Marie Desplechin
Direction and choreography: Thierry Thieû Niang
Distribution : Ariane Ascaride
Lieu : La Scala, 13 boulevard de Strasbourg, 75010 Paris
Dates : until May 9, 2025
