At the end of a creative residency, the British director, Dan Jemmett, presented his “remake” of Dr Jivago at the Odéon theater in Nîmes, in front of an audience of professionals.
Interior. Odéon Theater, Nîmes. Black. The spectators interrupt their conversation. The actors enter the scene. It almost looks like a fictional scenario, and yet it is the reality that offered itself to us last Wednesday on the occasion of the first performance of Dr Jivago. A play directed by the British Dan Jemmett, inspired by David Lean’s masterpiece released in 1965, itself adapted from the eponymous novel by Boris Pasternak.
This room was created in the shadows, at this precise moment when culture is no longer considered as an activity of first necessity. However, the need to act is essential for the players in the sector who, despite this thick fog which prevents them from seeing the happy horizon, have chosen to continue to move forward.
For the Nîmes theater, this translates into hosting artist residencies. This was the case for the company of Luxury monsters founded by Valérie Crouzet and Dan Jemmett. She is an actress, he is a director. With the theater of Nîmes (delegated production) and the actor Geoffrey Carey, they present Dr Jivago.
“It is not an adaptation of the film. It’s quite impossible to tell the whole story, it’s way too big. The idea was rather to approach themes, in particular the context of the Revolution, poetry and the love story. This film lends itself to a form of theatrical research“, underlines the director.
He even pushes the reflection on the subject of the 7th art even speaking of the “end of the golden age of cinema, that time when it was still possible to imagine three-hour films. To take the time“. The same to continue:”Today, we have no more patience, everything is measured on the page. “To illustrate his point, Dan Jemmett relies on the way of filming David Lean, to focus on the beauty of Omar Sharif and Julie Christie.
He also lent himself to this exercise by integrating puppets bearing the effigy of the two actors in his play. It is also a way of paying tribute to the director who used the D system for the shooting of his film. “With these puppets, as well as the scene with the train, I wanted to go in the direction of David Lean by bringing the artisan side to the scale of the theater.“, comments the co-founder of the company of Luxury monsters.
A long ovation greeted the work of the actors and the director last Wednesday at the Odéon theater. Amateurs or lovers of the theater, we know your frustration, but this performance, as well as that of the next day, was not open to ordinary audiences but to professionals and especially programmers who, despite the context, are preparing for the coming season.
Among them, Claude Nuel, president of the ATP (Popular Theater Association) of Uzès and its secretary, Dominique Granier. On leaving the theater, the two women did not hide their pleasure in being able to find the stage, the actors. In February, Claude Nuel was able to discover four pieces under these same conditions, between professionals. “I admit that during the first show, I was, like all professionals, under the influence. It was like a shock to be able to find the theater again, to share it with people. This is something that we miss dearly.“
The Uzès ATP has not reopened its doors since October. “We spent our time programming, deprogramming and reprogramming“, explains the president. And to add:”We try because we tell ourselves that at some point, we’re going to get there. The problem is to know if the public will come, if we will have enough time upstream to warn them. But we make the bet every time. There, I’m trying to schedule something for April 15th.“
A complicated organization for the volunteers who keep the structure alive but who do not have to worry about its survival thanks to the subsidies that are still running. As to whether this creation by Dan Jemmett could interest Uzès ATP, Claude Nuel leaves no room for suspense. “Yes. I saw the film I don’t know how many times and obviously read the novel. This version, with this slowness, teaches us to know the theater. There are a lot of theatrical things and at the same time it speaks of cinema, it speaks of History, politics, love. There are many possibilities to escape. At times, my heart was pounding hard.”
Stephanie Marin
–
