Project
SHAKESPEARE AU LUTH
Quartier du Luth, Gennevilliers, 2013 -2014
An immersive performance project

A theatrical infusion in the quartier du Luth

The first space is that of Shakespeare, master of language and human passions, his unforgettable works tracing the contours of a turbulent and troubled era with thematic and verbal depth. Spokesperson for a world heavy with frustration and impossible hopes, sweating anger and the dream of change.

The second space is physical and closer to home: the quartier du Luth in Gennevilliers, teeming with energy and potential, stigmatised and unloved by its super-diverse population, too often identified with violence, and trafficking.

Shakespeare au Luth resonates with and through these two worlds.

The long-term multigenerational project resulting in three performances of “Blood will have blood” in January 2014, at the Espace Aimé Césaire

A participative and relational artistic approach

After two artistic projects developed in neighbourhoods of Asnières and Gennevilliers in 2011 and 2012: Espaces Rêvés then Lieu Commun, Shakespeare au Luth aimed to renewing the dialogue between conflictual young people of both towns by giving them a voice and by organising spaces of expression, transposed away from restitution of current events, or everyday life. Using Shakespeare's words to talk about daily experiences and frustrations, inovolved negotiating a sensitive route through accumulated tensions.

This third project in the quartier du Luth proposed theatre as a vehicle for resolving conflict via the imagination, allowing collective and collaborative work to support new, or extreme emotional situations. The text and the staging created the necessary distance to allow explosions of energy, anger or joy. Artistic reformulation through theatre making it possible to express what cannot be.

The questioning of urban identities and power were the central intentions of this ambitious project; its relational process as important as its final performances. In addition to the participatory dimension, Sarah Harper's aim was to renew a dialogue between generations, opposed by different modes of expression. Shakespeare au Luth proposed an original, intergenerational collaboration.

« Blood will have blood »  (Le Sang appelle le sang)

In January 2014, a collective promenade performance was performed three times through the Espace Aimé Césaire, a new cultural centre transformed for the occasion into a monumental theatrical installation. Fifty residents of all ages shared their creative and expressive power in a very contemporary reinterpretation of  William Shakespeare.

The public immersed into the heart of the action, into a Shakespearian world,  resembling our own... mixing registers and languages: alternately epic or tragic, passing from rhetoric to introspection, from politics to sentiment, from diplomacy to ceremony, from barbaric outbursts to comedy. An essay on power and society woven from excerpts from Macbeth, Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Performed scenes, dance, puppetry, photo, and video installations... a  multiplicity of artistic disciplines made for an accessible and impressive theatrical experience,  honoring the collective energy and audacity and valuing the participants as well as the neighborhood that bore witness to them.

Creative Team & Partners
SHAKESPEARE AU LUTH
ÉQUIPE & PARTENAIRES


Financial Partners

Ville de Gennevilliers
L’ACSÉ
CG Hauts de Seine
Arcadi

 

Creative Team
Production : Friches Théâtre Urbain
Director: Sarah HARPER
Production and scenography: Pascal LAURENT
Assistant director: Rose GUEGAN
Phtography and video: Antoine DUMONT
Costumes: Claudia VERDEJO
Puppetry making and manipulation: Laure BOUCHEREAU
Choreography: Daudet GRAZAI
Vidéo- installations for the final event: Groupe LAPS (Nadir BOUASSRIA editing, Pierre FROMENT editing and programming, Erwan QUINTIN sound, Thomas VEYSSIÈRE lighting)
Slam composition and performance: Maudet MADI ALI,  l’association MAD
Stage manager: Quentin DOURIEZ

Graphics and posters: Camille FRECHOU, Juliette DIEUDONNE

 

Local Partners
L’Espace Aimé Césaire
La Maison du Développement Culturel
Club 36-38 (Club Ados)
Le club de Boxe de Gennevilliers
La Maison de l’Enfance Robert Desnos,
Le Centre Arevo - Camille Cartier (séniors)

 

Resources
SHAKESPEARE AU LUTH
You will find in this space documents related to the “Shakespeare au Luth” project available for download.