A remarkable mark of recognition for the work provided by this troop of amateur actors: the IL company won Le Masque d'or, a prize which rewards an amateur theater company in France every 4 years (1). “It’s the equivalent of Molière for us”humbly confides Guy Podoriezack.
It was with his wife that he founded the IL company in 1986. Marie-Hélène, lifelong lover of boards. A graduate of the conservatory, Marie-Hélène chose to stay on the shores of the Mediterranean when she met her husband, Guy… and shared her passion for theater with him.
The couple went through different theater companies in Toulon before getting involved and deciding to create their own troupe. With them, Philippe Cagnier. “He was a soldier, came back from Mururoa, wrote a lot of plays.” It will also be one of the creations of Philippe Cagnier who will launch the amateur theater company IL.
Almost 40 years later, HE is still here. “We didn't really have any ideas for a name, we just knew that we didn't want a high-sounding name, remember Guy and Marie-Hélène. We didn't really know what theater we were going to play. We named it IL, thinking that we would quickly change it…” HE stayed, even settled in the Var panorama.
The little company brings together ten faithful actors, “former students from elsewhere”, underlines Marie-Hélène, who gave theater classes in the Mussou room in La Garde, where the company has two slots to work. She is also a costume designer and two stage managers. All volunteers.
“Richard III will not take place”
Because theater here is not approached as a hobby. These amateurs take up the game, take up the challenge of the text and its interpretation, of its staging. We also find Marie-Hélène and Guy directing and directing the actors on this play “Richard III n'aura pas passe”, an adaptation which allowed them to win The Golden Mask.
Matei Visniec's text takes us in the footsteps of a great Russian director, Meyerhold, who obtained authorization to stage Shakespeare's play “Richard III” in his country where the revolution is trying to create a man new and censors certain authors… Shakespeare is not (censored) but the commission which supervises all this finds certain theatrical signs confusing, even counter-revolutionary. The author, Romanian, evokes here through the prism of humor, the totalitarian regime of Nicolae Ceausescu… Its adaptation was an opportunity for the IL theater to question itself in its reading of the work, in its approach of the staging.
He doesn't really like classic settings, and here he immerses his audience in the memories of our director through a mapping in three panels. Not an ordinary choice, which undoubtedly also allowed the company to stand out.
The 2024 Golden Mask therefore honors our amateur actors. A reward that“we owe all the work we have done over all these years”raises Marie-Hélène. Not without pride. Between performances – the company tours with this “Richard III will not take place” and a comedy “Cas Barré” – HE also continues his popularization work with the public. Two major actions to this: the Théâtre en Garde operation one Wednesday per month for 5 months, 5 amateur troupes invited to the Mussou room in La Garde, and above all, the Théâtre en Garde festival. It will take place on March 28, 29 and 30, 2025.
>> www.theatre-il.org
(1) The Golden Mask is a national competition which rewards, every 4 years in Aix-Les-Bains, the best amateur theater show. It was created in 1982, in partnership with the National Federation of Amateur Theater Companies and the Charles Dullin Association (a prize created in 1961 which also rewards amateur theater). The following were presidents of the Masque d'or jury: Robin Renucci, Jean-Michel Ribes, Madeleine Robinson, Claire Nadeau among others… This year, the jury of professionals was chaired by the actor and director Omar Porras.
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