During the restoration, in the 19th century, Lucien Chardon, who lives in Angoulême, dreams of literary glory… And what other place than Paris to fulfill his aspirations? The rest, we have often heard it if we have not read it, it belongs to the great classics of literature.
Honoré de Balzac’s “Lost Illusions” are adapted here by Paul Platel, in collaboration with Laure Sauret, in a piece called “Splendeurs et misères”. The third work signed by the actor and director from Nice, who “always had the desire, from a very young age, to do theater, to play…” And Paul Poggi, a theater teacher met at the Saint-Laurent-du-Var conservatory, confirms this vocation.
With the support of Ariane Mnouchkine
It was at EDT91, in Evry, that he met the people with whom he created, a few years later, the Théâtre des évadés.
With them and… Ariane Mnouchkine. A great lady of the theater, she created the Théâtre du Soleil in Paris. “I was a great admirer of his work”continues the Nice resident. It is through a letter that he explains his project to her. “She then suggested that we put on our first show at the Théâtre du Soleil, which we did.”
“Je me remember”, winner of the Forte prize from the Île de France region – which rewards emerging talents –, was performed there for one month in 2020. The show will then be presented in Nice and Mougins.
The text, signed Paul Platel, places the action in a village in the South-East of France, a village which, due to its economic and geographical situation, is becoming more and more isolated. A social and committed fresco, around characters resisting in their own way, to oblivion by telling their story. “Being isolated is, in my opinion, one more voice for the extremes…”
“Pardon Abel”, second play written and directed by Paul Platel and created at the Théâtre national de Nice (TNN) and at the Théâtre du Soleil in 2022, told the story of fishermen who distort their village to make it a new Las Vegas, taking advantage of the situation to make money there. The sea, money, its power and its perverse effects…
The parallel with life on the Côte d’Azur is quickly made, isn’t it? “I try to express in my shows all the love I feel for this region from which I come but without being blind to its faults”smiles the young author.
Improv work
“Les Illusions perdus” ultimately is just one more step on the path of this theater in touch with the reality that Paul Platel follows as an author: “This young man who arrives in Paris and finds himself completely destroyed by a system that is firmly in place and which will crush him, it’s something that touches me. This 19th century novel echoes 2024. I don’t I haven’t experienced Lucien’s ordeals but, in adapting the play, we are always very surprised by the fact that Paris has not changed that much and that the weight of money and politics is still so strong, leaving little room to art and sensitivity.” This is also the theme that Paul Platel and Laure Sauret focused on in the adaptation.
Adapting a text that belongs so much to the collective imagination, how do we go about it? “It’s not the first adaptation, but in my opinion, the way of being. The most original and the strongest thing is to take it very personally. We worked during the first part of the rehearsals, at the Théâtre du Soleil – we then rehearsed at TNN with whom we have been collaborating since 2021 – it was initially improvisation work on extracts from the novel. This allowed the actors to fully appropriate the text and the story. ” For a story and a direction which, in the end, avoids clichés and betrayals that are too intense according to the director.
After having been performed for a month at the Théâtre de l’Épée de Bois in Paris, the show will also be presented at the Théâtre du Soleil from January 9 to February 2. Wishing him to return to the South of France afterwards. In the meantime, it will be performed at La Gaude and Brocles on October 11 and 12.
“Splendeurs et misères”, by Paul Platel, creation hosted by the Théâtre l’Épée de Bois and supported by the Théâtre du Soleil and the Théâtre national de Nice.
> Friday October 11 at 9 p.m., La Coupole cultural center in La Gaude. Prices: from 10 to 12 euros. > Saturday October 12 at 8:30 p.m. in the Les Arts d’Azur room at Le Broc. Prices: from 7 to 10 euros.
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