On November 30, Théâtre Ouvert presented the mise en espace of the text 28 Battiti by Italian playwright Roberto Scarpetti.
Here below we publish what the author has written about his experience in Paris.
It’s always hard judging a play (or a monologue…) from a public reading or a mise en espace.
And it is even harder if the play has been already produced in another country.
On Friday 30th November at Théâtre Ouvert, for a Fabulamundi event inside the festival Focus #5, I was in the awkward position of being both the author of the play and the director of the original version of 28 battements. Nonetheless I was taken to forgetting the Italian mise en scéne, to enjoying the reading and following the play (in the beautiful translation by Olivier Favier) as it was really the first time.
I was taken into all this by Sidney Ali Mehelleb, director and performer of the mise en voix, something in between a reading and a mise en espace, with some powerful visual moments at the beginning and in the middle of the reading.
A hypnotic and intense actor, able to play with the various and complicated tones of the monologue, turning the character into a person in flesh and bones.
Chosen for the reading by the staff of Théâtre Ouvert, Sidney really fits the character on stage, both for his personal life and acting skills. Thanks to Caroline Marcilhac!