Le sacrifice comme acte poétique & Liebestod

This new programming by France Culture in the Cour du Musée Calvet is based on the idea that literature, poetry, and theatre are not only weapons but also a way to distance oneself, to “disorient” oneself from current events. “A great writer must dare venture out like Don Quixote,” says Enrique Vila-Matas, special guest for this programme. The audience is therefore invited to a wild ride alongside some emblematic works, in the language of Cervantès but also in that of Diderot. With humour and whimsy, guaranteed.

Le sacrifice comme acte poétique by Angélica Liddell

Angélica Liddell blends art and life, fiction and biography, theoretical reflection and poetic creation. From among all her theoretical texts, we have chosen those that we felt shed the most light on the artist's performances and her artistic approach. In Le sacrifice comme acte poétique, as in Liebestod, Angélica Liddell evokes artistic creation and its highly organic and violent dramaturgical process, because, in her words, "poetic violence is necessary to combat real violence". Admirers of Angélica Liddell's work will find a great deal of intimacy in these texts, and lovers of the theatre will be able to devote themselves to a freer reading of the creative act in general, which opens our eyes to a subversive, out-of-the-box theatre.

Reading followed by an interview with Angélica Liddell.

In 1993, Angélica Liddell founded the company Atra Bilis in Madrid. Atra bilis, a Latin expression used in ancient medicine to describe the thick, black mood thought to be the cause of melancholy. It's a name like a programme in a score of plays written by this artist, author, director and performer of her own creations. Her words, raw and violent poetry, are those of intimate and collective suffering, both inseparable for Angélica Liddell. But don't talk to her about commitment: she prefers to define herself as a "civil resistance fighter", guided by compassion and the art of sharing suffering. And because she says she doesn't consider herself a writer, or because words are not always equal to horror, the stage is the ideal place to give it body. A body that is sometimes severely tested, abused, violated, tormented to the core. "The body gives rise to truth. Wounds give rise to truth". In her shows, Angélica Liddell observes the darkness of the world, takes on the pain of others and transforms horror to make the theatrical act a gesture of survival.

Reading Anne Azoulay
And with Maya Lopez, student actor with Ensemble 31 of the École Régionale d'Acteurs de Cannes et de Marseille (ERACM)
Reading followed by an interview with Angélica Liddell
Selection of texts and direction Sophie-Aude Picon
Assistant director Jules Benveniste
Text translated from Spanish by Christilla Vasserot, published by Les Solitaires intempestifs