Childhood at Work

What is it that's at work during childhood? Aren't daydreaming and meandering inactivity the first stages of inventiveness? Using the early works of four great authors, Robin Renucci alternates between different literary forms and explores the origins of what makes an artistic vocation. Henri Michaux follows the journey of the soul when it breaks away from a still body to swim away into the unknown. As a child, Marcel Proust despairs of being kissed goodnight by his mother, only to realise later that what brought him the most pleasure was the waiting. Arthur Rimbaud, so very young, explains in verse how one's first poems are born at the same time as one's first romantic feelings. Romain Gary, whose mother sees him only as a potential destiny, feels overwhelmed, but also filled with love and ambition. For those unique children, emotional attachments and constraints become part of their work: their need to express themselves turns into an addiction to symbols, and before they know it, they've become poets. In a constant dialogue with Nicolas Stavy's piano and a physically relaxed atmosphere that brings to mind a state of dreaming, Robin Renucci invites the audience to reflect on the invisible work that makes us human: our aspiration to dream, our desire for the incredible. 

Nicolas Stavy's passion for the piano dates back to his childhood. Determined to make it his life's work, he joined the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse, then the Conservatoire de Genève to train as a virtuoso. He graduated each time with the highest honours, and was then awarded a special prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. With his large repertoire and love for various forms, Nicolas Stavy also likes to cross the divide between music and the other arts, working on shows with artists like Didier Sandre or Robin Renucci, with whom he performed in Wladyslaw Szpilman's The Pianist.

AN ITINERANT SHOW

7 JUL 20H Avignon, Collège Anselme Mathieu
8 JUL 20H Sérignan du Comtat, Espace La Garance
10 JUL 20H Sorgues, Pôle culturel Camille Claudel
11 JUL 20H Caumont-sur-Durance, Salle Roger Orlando
13 JUL 20H Morières-lès-Avignon, Espace culturel Folard
14 JUL 20H Avignon, Espace pluriel La Rocade La Barbière
15 JUL 20H Avignon, BMW MINI-Foch Automobiles
18 JUL 20H Vacqueyras, Cour du château
19 JUL 20H Saze, Salle polyvalente
20 JUL 15H AND 20H Mazan, La Boiserie
23 JUL 20H Roquemaure, Salle des fêtes La Cantarello
24 JUL 20H St-Saturnin-lès-Avignon, La Pastourelle
25 JUL 20H Boulbon, Salle Jacques Buravand
26 JUL 20H Rochefort du Gard, Complexe J.Gallia

SHOWS NOT OPEN FOR SALE

12 JUL Le Pontet, Centre pénitentiaire
17 JUL Le Pontet, AFPA

Texts Romain Gary, Marcel Proust, Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Valéry
Direction Robin Renucci
Music Franz Liszt, Sergueï Rachmaninov, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Alexandre Scriabine and Piotr Llitch Tchaïkovski
Artistic collaboration Nicolas Kerszenbaum and Nicolas Martel

With Robin Renucci, Nicolas Stavy

Production Tréteaux de France - Centre dramatique national
Co-production Festival d'Avignon
With the support of Adami for the 71st edition of the Festival d'Avignon