Richard III – Loyaulté me lie # 23

 

Pupils from the lower sixth form theatre class have followed the making process of the play “Richard III –Loyaulté me lie”. As part of a project led by their teacher Laëtitia Le Van, they were welcomed by and involved in the Théâtre de l’Union’s team, in particular Jean Lambert-wild, Christofhe Mourlon Caffin and assistant dramaturge Zelda Bourquin.

Their experience was twofold: they were the recipients but also the transmitters of that experience. As observers, they followed several creative processes:they attended a reading of the Diaries written about the project, observed a rehearsal, had dedicated meetings and conversations with Jean Lambert-wild, Claire Seguin, Gérald Garutti, Lorenzo Malaguerra, Jean-Pierre Han – critic and theatre criticism historian… As “actors”, they were, among other things, ambassadors of the project to their peers from the Theatre sections of their college; they also directed and performed scenes from Shakespeare’s text in the streets of Limoges – a breath-taking “Richard III express”; they interviewed Jean Lambert-wild and Claire Seguin for Réseau Canopé and Théâtre de l’Union.

In their first meeting with Théâtre de l’Union’s director, they were given a new mission and put in charge of three of the Diaries. Their experience provided the through-line of their writing in which they modestly give an account of their experience over four months.  

 

First encounter with Jean Lambert-wild (1/3)

 

Thursday 5 November 2015 was our inaugural encounter with the Richard III project. And, it must be said, it was quite an… impressive moment.

 

First of all, Zelda Bourquin, assistant dramaturge in C(h)aractère company, and Christofhe Mourlon Caffin were in charge of welcoming us, and instantly renamed us “the boar piglets” (as a reference to Richard III’s emblem in the play: the boar). The atmosphere was relaxed, and we were introduced to this colourful project with a cup of coffee (or a glass of water for those who aren’t caffeine-addicts…). In short, there was enough to win our trust.

 

Then came the moment we met the great, the notorious, the fabulous… OK, let’s calm down. We were introduced to Jean Lambert-wild. Us, pupils, simple theatre students, we found ourselves in front of the Théâtre de l’Union’s director, who is also an accomplished actor. Needless to say, we probably all felt really small in that moment: us, the little piglets, in front of the “boar”, as he calls himself!

 

Let’s say that Jean Lambert-wild is not just anyone. He is a great character, after all. So we were of course a little intimidated and at the same time fascinated by such a person, by the passion he was energetically and enthusiastically communicating on stage. Jean Lambert-wild has in his voice a sort of detachment as well as a great presence; he is incredibly serious and a powerful orator with an impressive erudition. He intrigued us, and above all, didn’t leave us indifferent. The distinction between the man and his clown character was a little troubling: a few of us didn’t manage to know whether they had the honour to meet Jean Lambert-wild’s clown, or really the theatre’s director.

“The hardest thing in life is not to think, but to express one’s thoughts.”

This is the sentence that left the biggest mark on us during our encounter with him. We can think, but it is difficult to share these thoughts, to communicate them. However, this is the point of such an exercise: to express oneself. A deep and complex thinking process, measuring up to this character we had met.

Jean Lambert-wild, the “wild” boar, transmitted us his energy, his exigence for words to be accurate (the existence of the word “prolegomena”, for instance). More, he gave us the opportunity to be a part of this project and to “express our thoughts”. And we must say, it is a real honour and a great privilege to be associated to this adventure.

 

 

 

 

Pupils from the lower sixth form theatre class (Première option Théâtre), Lycée Limosin

 

You can find the interviews conducted by the lower sixth form theatre class (Première option Théâtre), Lycée Limosin on the website theatre-contemporain.net:
http://www.theatre-video.net/video/Jean-Lambert-wild-et-son-clown?autostart

>An online resource pack “(Un)made play” , by Réseau Canopé, is available for this show:
http://www.theatre-contemporain.net/spectacles/Richard-III-Loyaulte-me-lie/contenus-pedagogiques/idcontent/64521

 

Show

Un clown, alité, face à son propre reflet, face à un double féminin qui se métamorphose, lui renvoyant l’image de...