In many respects, the comparison of the Reunion artist Alain Peters with Arthur Rimbaud, relatively speaking, is not usurped. Like the man who is considered a major figure in French literature, Alain Peters is a cursed poet. A tortured genius who magnificently mastered maloya in poetry in the 70s. Disappeared at the age of 43 when the French poet died 37 years old, in virtual anonymity, his work, like that of Rimbaud, was successful with the general public posthumously. It was in 1998, 3 years after the death of Alain Peters that his album “ Parable » became the best-selling label Takamba (named after his favorite instrument) and in 2007 it was voted best French-speaking album by the music magazine Chorus.
And the comparison doesn’t stop there. Just like Rimbaud, the emblematic artist of Reunion Creole culture produced a dense, stylistic and daring poetic work. A work that is still too little known and needs to be discovered by as many people as possible. This is the meaning of the project designed by the author and director Lyma Vitte with the complicity of Gaël Pététin and Antoine Pozzo di Borgo for the musical creation who offer us a transdisciplinary show which combines cinema, music and story.
A universal love song
Conceived as a film which tells the investigation of two musicians, lovers of maloya, the soul and identity of Reunion culture, thrown headlong into the search for a mysterious recording by Alain Peters. A recording considered a relic or talisman. This quest in the form of an initiatory and musical journey merges with a personal and cultural history, punctuated by discoveries and encounters.
This show is a mixture of documentary film and live performance and the projection of videos of the authors constitutes the scenographic backdrop. The Barachois of Saint-Denis, the birthplace of Alain Peters, also the location of the adventures of the protagonists, is recreated on stage in a lively setting with the music of the man who inspired a whole generation of Reunion musicians sung and performed in the background. live by artists and actors, punctuating the story and supporting the emotion of the journey.
« Parabolers in the footsteps of Alain Peters » is a tribute to the work of the one who “ didn’t believe it anymore “. A celebration of creativity, to poets and creators of parables. A song of universal love to all those who find in words a way to heal their ills and reasons to still believe.
E.B.
« Parabolers in the footsteps of Alain Peters »
Musical show by Lyma Vitte, Gaël Pététin and Antoine Pozzo di Borgo
From January 17 to 19, 2025
Hall of Song
211, avenue Jean Jaurès
75019 Paris
Information : www.lehalldelachanson.com
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