In the Bois de Vincennes, an old munitions factory on the outskirts of
Paris, the day is just beginning for Theatre du Soleil, the radical
theatre company founded on radical ideals of collectivism in 1964. The
company are preparing to bring their epic production of Les Naufrages
du Fol Espoir (Aurores), or The Castaways of the Fol Espoir (Sunrises)
in English, to Edinburgh in an all too rare appearance on British soil.
The production, loosely adapted from a posthumously published novel by
Jules Verne, tells the story of a 1914 voyage of the Fol Espoir to Cape
Horn, where the ship's passengers want to set up an idealistic
community while the rest of the world drives relentlessly to what
became the First World War. Meanwhile, a film crew attempt to tell this
tale of doomed utopianism by using restaurant staff as actors.
On one level, the tale reflects the existence, philosophy, working
methods and ideals of Theatre du Soleil itself. When they were founded,
the Cold War was dividing Europe, nuclear warfare was presumed to be
imminent, and social, political and cultural revolution were in the air
enough to point the way towards the seismic events of 1968. then, Paris
would be the focus of mass strikes and demonstrations.
The major difference, of course, is that, after almost half a century
of creating theatre in their own unique way, Theatre du Soleil are
still sailing towards their idyll. Much of this spirit is defined by
legendary director Ariane Mnouchkine, who, despite the company's
collectivism, is seen as the figurehead of the company she co-founder
with Philippe Leotard and other graduates of L'Ecole Internationale de
Theatre Jacques Lecoq.
Mnouchkine devises the company's work over long periods of group
improvisations based around a particular starting point. Les Naufrages
du Fol Espoir (Aurores) ended up being written in part by long-term
company collaborator, writer, feminist and intellectual, Helene Cixous,
with music composed by Jean-Jacques Lemetre, another Theatre du Soleil
stalwart. Despite such defined rolls, however, Theatre du Soleil work
co-operatively. All company members, including Mnouchkine, are on an
equal wage, while the actors make their own props, run the Bois de
Vincennes bar during the interval, and effectively live and breathe
Theatre du Soleil every minute of the day.
As with all such communal endeavours, the commitment required by
company members can be exhausting at both a personal and professional
level. Days are long and work is hard. Yet those in tune with the
Theatre du Soleil aesthetic stay with it for years, finding both family
and home with the company. Two such actors are Juliana Carneiro and
Duccio Bellugio. By the time she arrives in Edinburgh this week,
Carneiro will have been with the company for a staggering twenty-three
years. Bellugio can boast an even longer tenure. At twenty-five years
and counting, he is the longest serving member of Theatre du Soleil
aside from Mnouchkine herself.
“There is another one who was here before,” says Bellugio, “but he left
for ten years and then came back.”
It is this sort of loyalty that Mnouchkine inspires.
“Every three or four years, Ariane runs a workshop,” Bellugio explains,
“and gets to meet young actors. That is when the relationship begins.
Ariane is very demanding of herself, so of course she is demanding of
others, but the work is always about going forward. There is an
exchange there, I believe, and even after rehearsing this play for one
whole year, I still have the sensation of going forward.”
Bellugio was training to be a dancer under Pina Bausch when he joined
Theatre du Soleil, so he already had something of a track record. As
did Carneiro, who had long held ambitions to join the company.
“I was working in Brussels at a school for dancers,” the Brazilian born
performer explains, “then in 1973 I saw Theatre du Soleil do L'Age
d'Or, and was so taken with it that I said to myself that one day I
would belong to this troupe. I kept that in my mind for many years,
then in 1990 I was a mother of two, living in Paris and working with a
dance company. We toured to Japan, then the day I came back I had a
phone call to say that Theatre du Soleil were looking for an actress to
play Clytemnestra. After three days working with them, I was accepted,
and it was marvellous.”
But what was it about the production of L'Age d'Or, actually produced
in 1975, that kept Carneiro so inspired for almost two decades?
“It was the Sun,” she remembers, still sounding awe-struck. “The play
was done in sand dunes, and the audience was moving up and down the
dunes with the performance. At the end, the Sun rose, and it was
perfect. We suddenly had this enormous energy and joy in our hearts,
and we started running through the dunes like mad, like everything was
possible.”
Making the impossible possible has been Mnouchkine and Theatre du
Soleil's raison d'etre from the start, with the company's debut
production of Les Petit Bourgeois, followed by a version of Arnold
Wesker's The Kitchen in 1967. The company really arrived with the
French revolution-set 1789, produced in 1970 and 1971, the same year
Mnouchkine and co moved into the Bois de Vincennes. Over the next forty
years, Mnouchkine has become a theatrical guru to the extent that even
her comrades can't help but put the 73-year old on a pedestal.
“She's someone who is in the present every second, and aware of
everything around her,” Carneiro beams. “She has a gift of giving she
was born with, and will never ask you to do something that she's not
able to do herself. She's always bringing us through a path of light,
and bringing out things even we didn't see. Even the way we rehearse is
so creative, because we don't know what we're going to be, so you can
do anything. We worked on this piece for eleven months, and our only
luxury is time, so we can really play, and grow as actors in our
performance. But if you ever have a doubt – and the way we work, you do
– when you see the end result, you totally understand it.”
Despite their status, Theatre du Soleil have stayed firmly out of the
mainstream. Even so, the company arrive in Edinburgh at a time when
artistic collectivism and something infinitely more significant than
commercial forces are very much back on the agenda
“We are navigating our way against the system,” Bellugio explains.
“That's the only way we can work. Ariane says if she didn't work this
way then she couldn't make theatre. It's a way of life.”
Les Naufrages du Fol Espoir (Aurores) / The Castaways of the Fol Espoir
(Sunrises), Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, Ingleston, August
23rd-28th, 6pm
www.eif.co.uk
The Herald, August 21st 2012
ends
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