L'Argent

It is unquestionably one of the most frequently used words in the French language in everyday life and, paradoxically, the least present in dramatic texts: money. Unquestionably because its moral value and its concrete value meld to occupy our minds so that there is a tacit acceptance of the dominant role it plays in our existence. The poet Christophe Tarkos was not satisfied with that “keep moving, there's nothing more to see” in composing a text that, with a mischievous finesse, multiplies assertions, formulations and affirmations in an infernal and repetitive spiral studded with humour to, in the end, make us aware of our dependence on this omnipresent money, here as everywhere else in the world. Neither a condemnation nor a denunciation on the part of the author, just the determination to use the power of words to question the obvious that is not that obvious. In taking hold of this text, Anne Théron wanted to both have it heard, have it “seen” and have it felt, using all the means the theatre possesses today to open up the poem and make it even more resonant without betraying it: the interpreters' bodies and voices of course – in this case the actor Stanislas Nordey and the dancer Akiko Hasegawa –, but also sophisticated technological processes. With Christian Van der Borght, she has imagined an environment with totally digit aesthetics in which the interpreters, as well as the spectators, are plunged, experiencing the flow of data that submerges us daily, more or less consciously, money being to a great extent dematerialized. An immersive proposal in which the theatre is also permanence, music and dance, since Christophe Tarkos' poetry is an affair of rhythm and movement. JFP

The man who considered himself a “poem-maker through improvisation” remained relatively unknown to the general public until his death in 2004, although his work had been hailed as one of the most innovative in contemporary poetry. Poetry in prose or poetic prose, either one may be chosen as Christophe Tarkos kneaded language like a “word dough” to better penetrate it. Always tinged with humour and mischief, his texts are verbal torrents digging out, down to the bone, a language whose orality is not the least of its qualities. His body of work, including Boxes, The Sign =, PAN, Anachronism and Poetic Writings, taken from Money, were published by Al Dante then by P.O.L.

text Christophe Tarkos
direction Anne Théron
artistic collaboration Christian Van der Borght, Stanislas Nordey
digital scenography and digital creation Christian Van der Borght
programmation artist and digital creation Philippe Boisnard
scenography and costumes Ania Goldanowska
sound Jean Reibel
lighting Benoît Théron

with Akiko Hasegawa, Stanislas Nordey

production Compagnie Les Productions Merlin
coproduction Compagnie Stanislas Nordey, Gaîté lyrique, Théâtre Liberté
with the participation of DICREAM Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, du Centre national du Cinéma and Centre national du Livre