Ragroof were commissioned by Zap Art Brighton to work with French Theatre Company le cercle de la litote to work on a trans-generational show under the direction of Luc Perrot. Family stories were at the heart of the performance, gathered from both rural and town-living people in Brighton and France.
With each of the families, we gathered the stories from three generations; these interviews were recorded and formed the basis of the work. They were typed up word for word, and both the French and English actors then sifted through the text in agreement with the interviewees. Photographs were taken of the families and these were made into the scenery/ backdrop for this outdoor show.
The set has carried the same format in all the places it has toured; the original was made into two circles of five families, with the audience invited to sit inside one or the other of the circles. This meant that each audience would see only one half of the stories told, although they could freely move between the circles. At the end of each performance, the audience were invited to have cider or apple juice with the actors and the families.
We rehearsed in the Virtual Creation Centre in Brighton, and then performed the show at the Streets of Brighton Festival 2005.
La Delience des Vies a Visage, by Luc Perrot, artistic director of le cercle de la litote
Delience: an action which consists in half-opening the ties between the real and the imaginary.
In this ‘delience’ known as ‘Unbinding Lives’, we have met families who have agreed to tell the story through words of a Grandfather passed on by those of a Son to arrive at the Grandson’s words. The Grandmothers, Mothers and Daughters were not left behind.
This performance speaks of today’s society with its questions, hopes and its enthusiasm without forgetting the ancestral memory which speaks to us. We have tried to unveil from the destiny of all these families, a common story where each can find his or her personal adventure, and from listening, unfolds our humanity.