Bérénice

by Romeo Castellucci
based upon Jean Racine
with Isabelle Huppert

Societas, Cesena (Italy), Printemps des Comédiens – Cité du Théâtre Domaine d’O, Montpellier (France)

Spoken in French, subtitled in English

Two legends of the stage come together, as Romeo Castellucci invites Isabelle Huppert to tackle Racine’s dramatic poem. The outcome of this is a remarkable and timeless monologue. Through his revisitation of the tragic myth of Berenice, Castellucci brings his theatre to a rare degree of incandescence. Refusing to seek any present-day relevance for the 1506 alexandrines that make up the play, the Italian stage director focuses instead on their intensity and formal beauty. Avoiding any sort of historical reconstruction, Castellucci invites us to get inside Berenice’s head, and Isabelle Huppert, perhaps the greatest actress of our time, is the perfect choice to embody this sublime conception. “When dealing with a character such as this, you must reach the summit of theatrical art, because there is nothing here except the word”, states the director, continuing: “It’s so important for Berenice that she is Isabelle Huppert, with her name, her persona, her art.” As a commentary, we will paraphrase Titus’ words: “Lady, I am ready to follow you even to the wide world’s end.”

Credits

by Romeo Castellucci based upon Jean Racine with Isabelle Huppert conceived and directed by Romeo Castellucci original music Scott Gibbons costumes Iris van Herpen direction assistance Silvano Voltolina lines repeater Agathe Vidal cast Isabelle Huppert with the participation of Cheikh Kébé, Giovanni Armando Romano and twelve local persons technical direction Eugenio Resta stage technician Andrei Benchea, Stefano Valandro light technician Andrea Sanson sound technician Claudio Tortorici costumes manufacture Chiara Venturini hair styling and make up Sylvie Cailler, Jocelyne Milazzo stage sculptures and automations Plastikart Studio Amoroso & Zimmermann general production Benedetta Briglia, Marko Rankov on tour production Giulia Colla, Bruno Jacob produced by Societas, Cesena (Italy), Printemps des Comédiens – Cité du Théâtre Domaine d’O, Montpellier (France) co-produced by Théâtre de La Ville Paris (France), Comédie de Genève (Switzerland), Ruhrtriennale (Germany), Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, deSingel International Arts Center (Belgium), Festival Temporada Alta (Spain), Teatro di Napoli – Teatro Nazionale (Italy), Onassis Culture – Athens (Greece), Triennale Milano (Italy), National Taichung Theater (Taiwan), Holland Festival (Netherlands), LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura (Switzerland), TAP – Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers (France), La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand – Scène Nationale (France), Théâtre national de Bretagne – Rennes (France) support Fondation d’entreprise Hermès opening 5 Mar 2024 Théâtre de La Ville, Paris (France)