Paul Valéry, Roland Barthes, Henry de Montherlant, Arthur Rimbaud… So many writers that allow Fabrice Luchini to set the stage ablaze.
In the spotlight, he enters the stage with his arms full of books: “Don’t worry, we’re not going to read them all!”
But the actor goes beyond a simple reading of the texts and brings them to life. He leafs through his books but doesn’t read them. He knows them by heart and continually shares with his audience. He starts with Paul Valéry from which Fabrice Luchini extracts a phrase: “I found myself guilty of the crime of poetry on this bridge of London”. He continues with Roland Barthes – A Lover’s Discourse – to explain Love and the relationships that unite two beings. Through these writings, he delves into the analysis of our society to critique it. Fabrice Luchini inspires a desire to share his reading choices and to delve deeper into discovering these authors.
Like in a One-Man-Show, he perfectly intertwines these works and his vision of our era, transitioning from politics to new forms of language.
Without losing a single second of his talent for impeccable diction and gestures, he immerses us in his reflections and some powerful moments of his life. His visit to Roland Barthes on Rue Servandoni in Paris, the filming of Perceval le Gallois: the actor frees himself by becoming the subject of the piece with a few notes of self-deprecation.
A Satisfied Audience
The setting is simple: a table, a few chairs and his books. The actor is also dressed very plainly – in black from head to toe – as if not to overdo it and contradict his sharp humor. But in this bare setting, Fabrice Luchini occupies the entire space. He uses the whole stage: the audience, surrounded, becomes the actor’s prey.
In the full house, spectators of all ages: some are discovering Fabrice Luchini for the first time, others are already hooked but everyone is won over by the play. He plays with his audience, tames them, and moves them. He establishes a sort of interaction by involving the audience: “the bourgeoisie of the stalls and the poor of the balconies,” he jokes. He gives the floor to some spectators to ask for their opinion, making the show even more lively and intimate.
We can’t stop laughing and feel at ease: we (re)discover a passionate and strong Fabrice Luchini. The man and the artist become one, we can feel the pleasure he derives when he’s on stage, we breathe it, we share it.
After Friedrich Nietzsche, he invites the audience to stand up and dance with him to a disco tune. Then, he begins “The Crow and the Fox” in verlan (French backward slang). He concludes with a quote from Jules Renard, emphasizing that it illustrates the opposite of what we have just experienced: “He spoke very little, but one could see he was thinking nonsense.”
Eric Rohmer: “The Most Important Man in My Life.”
Fabrice Luchini pays tribute to Eric Rohmer, who discovered and launched him. He shared with him 5 films, including Perceval le Gallois: he describes its filming and premiere.
Fabrice Luchini makes sure to thank this great French filmmaker who passed away on January 11, highlighting the importance he had in his life.
Filled with respect and admiration, he explains: “I would like to pay tribute to the greatest French filmmaker.” A few spectators begin to applaud, then the entire audience acclaims the great man of cinema.
