Norwegian author Jon Fosse's sharp language, extracts from nothingness the heroes of Visites. The play, bitter, painful, but nonetheless comic, brings together a family abandoned by their father. Between the mother, her daughter, her son and the man who “visits” this woman, ambiguous and disturbing relationships form. It is within an oppressive silence, the Norwegian playwright observes these ordinary lives. He throws the spotlight on them at the decisive moments in their lives and leaves much of their stories in the dark. The drip-dripping of their words, all that is unsaid and their silence, all skim the surface of their emotions, and another conversation can be heard. Fosse plunges us into the tones of solitude. His language becomes music with discordant variations which thicken their silhouettes rendering unfathomable these so very ordinary people. The mystery is equal to the dizziness we feel, faced with the complexity of this four-member family. The play moves to the beat of buried secrets, hidden lives, and probable lies. Each one tries to speak or make one of the others speak, but the few words that are uttered don' t show. The characters do show themselves to be ambivalent, suffering because of it, and end up distancing themselves from each other. The play shows how vast is the rift which separates individuals who are hanging dangerously over emptiness, because they are unable to hang on to each other.
Distribution
translation Terje Sinding
stage direction Marie-Louise Bischofberger
cast :Audrey Bonnet, Jérémie Lippman, Hugues Quester,
Dominique Reymond
set design :Bernard Michel
lighting: Dominique Bruguière et Roberto Venturi
costumes :Jean-Daniel Vuillermoz
music and sound :David Moreau
adviser in dramaturgy: Marc Paquien
assistant director : François Prodromidès
assistant lighting : François Thouret
Production
Production :Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne ETE
En coproduction avec : la Compagnie B
Avec la participation artistique: du Jeune Théâtre National
Avec le soutien :de la DRAC Ile-de-France ministère de la Culture et de la Communication et du Festival d'Avignon
Texte publié: aux éditions de l'Arche