Platonov

The accursed child of a bygone century, Platonov enters the Cour d'Honneur. In July 2002, the huge wall of the Palais des Papes (The Popes' Palace) lit up, and the glow from each window of this monumental décor – transformed into the home of the beautiful widow Anna Petrovna – outlined the shadows of the guests attending her reception. Among them is Platonov, Hamlet of fortune or a good-hearted Dom Juan. He wanders around, drinks a lot, tells the story of his father's death, a man who had been rich but was ruined, and then was shunned by all. A young school teacher from the provinces, an unsatisfied seducer, a concupiscent angel or a concupiscible devil, Platonov is bears within him the tragic destiny of kings. He is complex, fragmentary, divided but also muddle-headed, incomplete, fascinating and multi-faceted, as much as the work which contains him. While it is torture for him to be judged by others, it is also what keeps him together. Constructed and constituted by the group, he tries to get away, to assert himself beyond his self and to test a few hearts, destroy a few others, walk over some ghosts and live, passionately. Even if it means suffering the worst evils, he wants to live with his self. “Platonov hurts”, he says.
The director Eric Lacascade says “The performances are my tools. They enable me to try to recreate the utopia of a group, a certain harmony which I have difficulty finding within existence, with myself. Platonov, precisely, tells the story of an individual fed and created by the group. He escapes, sometimes managing to assert his individuality, but the group draws him back. The group is made of strong individuals but they are united. I like this quest for balance both from an artistic and political point of view.”. Since 1997, Eric Lacascade has been director of the Centre Dramatique National de Normandie in Caen. He has taken up the challenge and chosen to take on Platonov after successfully directing Ivanov, Family Circle for Three Sisters as well as The Seagull at the Avignon Festival in 2000. Éric Lacascade then decided it wastime to tackle the first work of Chekov, the foundation stone. It may seem heretical to bring the most elusive play by the master of intimistRussian theatre into the vast Cour d'Honneur. However, Platonov, when first performed here in 2002 won accolades from the press and enthusiastic acclaim from the public. Written by an adolescent poet, Platonov is a work full of dynamic promise and yet written like a draft, a sublime literary monster written by a mere child unaware of his genius. Caught between his medical studies and police surveillance due to his acquaintance with active revolutionaries, Chekov celebrated his twentieth birthday by feverishly writing this untitled saga. The actress to whom he dedicated the play, rejected it and it disappeared from the life of the young man, and of the universally renowned writer he was to become. Platonov, “Little Plato”, was uncovered in Chekov's rough works and plunged into a ravaged Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. In France, from Jean Vilar who directed a cast led by Maria Casarès in 1956, to Patrice Chéreau who based the story of his film \'Hôtel de France' on it in 1987, the intense school teacher, who gets lost in his own life like in a nightmare, becomes a wandering soul in whose destiny failure is delectation and exhilaration. Chekhov's agent provocateur is the echo of a credo born by youth in all pernicious societies where the younger generation is repudiated, compromised, robbed of its identity and of its' creative force. Between revolution and resignation, the conquest of the world and the meaning of life, Chekhov distills and burns the fuel of his work in a single play: it's the beginning, matrix and tomb of his work. As well as adapting and incarnating the character of Ossip, Éric Lacascade fashions the flesh and blood and fiery characters, endeavours to capture the incandescence of an exciting work, a far cry from the out-dated folklore full of samovars, haze and mist and dullness. A generous stage director, he marries intense movements, the energetic grace of dance and the fervour of personified phrases. After a year on tour, Éric Lacascade and his actors, returning to the Cour d'Honneur, have reviewed the lighting, the space and even the adaptation of the play, paying particular attention to the exploration of new areas where mysteries lie.

adaptation and direction: Éric Lacascade
cast :Jérôme Bidaux, Jean Boissery, Arnaud Chéron, Arnaud Churin, Murielle Colvez, Alain D'Haeyer, Christophe Grégoire, Stéphane Jais, Éric Lacascade, Christelle Legroux, Daria Lippi Brusco, Millaray Lobos, Serge Turpin
dramaturg :Vladimir Petkov
artistic collaboration: Eimuntas Nekrosius
collaboration with the dramaturg: Pascal Collin
scenography :Philippe Marioge
costumes :Laurence Bruley
make-up :Suzanne Pisteur
lighting :Philippe Berthomé
music :Alain D'Haeyer
sound :Nicolas Girault
assistant director :David Bobée

Production :Centre dramatique national de Normandie-Comédie de Caen Coproduction :Festival d'Avignon, Les Gémeaux-Scène nationale de Sceaux, Théâtre d'Evreux-Scène nationale d'Evreux-Louviers en collaboration avec Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione / Modena et Santarcangelo dei Teatri
Avec le soutien :du Conseil régional de Basse-Normandie, du Conseil général du Calvados, de la Ville de Caen, du Conseil régional d'Ile-de-France et de la DRAC Basse-Normandie
Texte publié par :l'Avant-scène théâtre