Marion Aubert writes nightmares. In her texts, we can find many of oddities: burlesque goes hand in hand with brutality, modesty with outburst, ordinary with extraordinary. Theatre deployed by Marion Aubert is a language theatre, which engages actors’ body. It’s a theatre that extracts us from reality, and in the same time puts us in a moment of extreme present. Marion Aubert’s nightmares had their origin in very different areas (mythological in Phaeton, family in Les Aventures de Nathalie Nicole Nicole or Orgueil, Poursuites et Décapitations, historical in Le Brame des Biches or Débâcles, sociological in Les Orphelines, theatrical in Les Histoires). But the truth, all these grounds – pathogens – most often co-exist.
Marion Aubert was born in 1977. In 1996, she wrote her first text for theater: Petite pièce médicament. This play is created in 1977, date on which she founds Cie Tire pas la Nappe. Since then, all her plays has been created, in particular staging of M. Guerrero. Marion Aubert answer also to orders from various theatres, directors or choreographers, including Comédie Française, Théâtre du Rond-Point, Théâtre Am Stram Gram from Geneva, Théâtre du Peuple de Bussang. Her plays are published at Actes Sud-Papiers. Some of her texts are translated in German, English, Czech, Italian, and Catalan. Aubert is patron of the class 26 from Comédie de Saint-Etienne and speaker at writing department at ENSATT. She is also founding member of Coopérative d’Ecriture initiated by F. Melquiot.
Theatre works
2012 / Débâcles, une pièce française, december 2012
2012 / La nouvelle, first staged: january 2012, Théâtre Am Stramg Gram, Genève
2012 / Dans le ventre du loup Heyoka Jeunesse; first staged: january 2012, Théâtre National de Chaillot.
2011 / Le brame des biches; first staged: august 2011 , Théâtre du Peuple de Bussang; published by Actes Sud-Papiers
2004 / Saga des habitants du Val de Moldavie followed by Conseils pour une jeune épouse; first staged: may 2004, Comédie de Valence, march 2012, Comédie de Saint-Etienne; published by Actes Sud-Papiers
2010 / Les Orphelines Heyoka Jeunesse; first staged: 2010, CDR de Vire.
2010 / Orgueil, poursuite et decapitation; first staged: january 2010, CDN, Montpellier ; published by Actes Sud-Papiers
2007 / Phaéton, august 2007; published by Actes Sud-Papiers
2007 / Scènes d’horreurs familiales; first staged: in november 2007; Co-edited by l’Avant-Scène-Théâtre – la Comédie française
2007 / Les Aventures de Nathalie Nicole Nicole followed by Voyage en pays herblinois, first staged : december 2007, CDDB, Lorient ; published by Actes Sud-Papiers
2006 / Les Histrions (détail), followed by Les Trublions, first staged: january 2006 , CDN, Montpellier; published by Actes Sud-Papiers
2013 / Tumultes
Tumultes
The play is a travel between two periods – the riots of February 6th 1934, the rise of fascism in Fra nce and the creation of the Popular Front (the ultimate reference of French leftists, particularly because of the implementation of paid holiday, the reduction of working hours and the 40-hour working week) and 2013. Nine young people, all students in drama, have decided to start a world revolution. They are questioning their claims and problems, their doubts and uncertainties as well as the confusion of the era. This is a sexual, political and burlesque play.
– Extracts from Tumultes –
In the Meeting Room
Mélissa: A racist is someone who is angry for the wrong thing. Olivier Neveu, that’s what he says.
Tibor: Still, we can’t always express ourselves in Olivier Neveu’s words.
Aurélia: Right, but that’s what Sylvie Dupré says though. We should discuss all this with Sylvie Dupré. Because they seem to know what they’re doing.
Mélissa: They must be on site. ( in the place)
Tibor: But we are on site too. What shall we do then ?
Aurélia: They must know the people who know more than we do ! journalists for example.
Mélissa: Olivier Neveu, for example, he knows a journalist who showed she had guts.
Pauline: You see, having guts is not at all what you can imagine though. That’s not at all something you can be proud of or what. When you get up in the morning, you see, what you feel in fact is fear. Fear in fact, that’s having guts.
Mélissa: Right but in fact, Olivier Neveu , he’s been saying something really important, like “ idealists are the true realists”. So, you see, they transform the world through their dreams of a new world. Realists never change anything in the world, they just look at the world and they say, “ oh well, that’s the way the world is “, and they stay comfortably home in their shacks.
Pauline: Shack? What kind of word is that?
Mélissa: What? Fuck you! What’s your problem? You know what, the others are just like you. Fuck them. They don’t do anything, they just enjoy being realists.
Pauline: You’re saying I am a realist? I’m not a realist, no way! Why do you call me a realist?
Manon: Who is Olivier Neveu?
Pauline: But you see, you can be a pessimist and an idealist. I am a pragmatic pessimist, that’s what I am. Far more interesting than being an idealist. What I want is doing something. I don’t care about the others, I keep my course. I do. What Olivier Neveu says we should do, you know, well, I do – because I share Olivier Neveu’s ideas – I stay the course. It’s action.
Maurin: You get up in the morning and you are in action ?
Mélissa: That’s exactly what we were discussing with Olivier Neveu.
Manon: Who’s that guy anyway ?
Pauline: Seriously now, I stay the course, you see. I keep going no matter what. Everything goes wrong, I still do my stuff, I haven’t got much hope but I don’t care. I don’t care about hope.
Aurélia: You don’t?
Manon: Is that so ?
Aurélia: You think our generation is, like, totally sacrificed ?
Pauline: I don’t think we are, but look around you.
Manon: I think we are. I can feel I am totally sacrificed.
Julien : Are you okay, Manon ? don’t cry. Fuck it. She’s crying, that sucks.
Tibor: What does he have to say about Manon ? Olivier Neveu?
A pause.
Manon: What is he like ? Olivier Neveu, I mean.
Mélissa: He is gay !
Pauline: What do you mean, gay?
Aurélia: You have something against gays ?
Gaspard : But why are you telling her about Olivier Neveu’s sexuality ?
Pauline: You are such a racist in fact ! You don’t even realize it but you have a homophobic streak. Like a congealed streak of sauce, you know, in your belly. Cut it open and it’s full pf homophobia.
Mélissa: I meant gay, not gay! Fuck. Can’t use some words anymore.
A pause.
Mélissa: I would so much like to change things with Olivier neveu.
Tibor: Has any of you heard of KissKissBankBank ?
Manon: KissKiss what ?
Tibor: “It is a crowdfunding platform dedicated to creative and innovative projects.”
Maurin: Right but I don’t agree with crowdfunding. Because, you see, it’s still part of the capitalist society, the people that donate money, well, those people have money that comes from capitalism.
Mélissa: Ok, right, fine, but then what can be done?
Pauline: Right, but I honestly don’t see how to really break away from capitalism. You’d need to be exceptionally smart to have a bit of perspective and none of us is that smart here.
Maurin: Right but you don’t need to be exceptionally smart to do something, I mean, take the French revolutionaries for example, I don’t think they were that smart, what do we know, but I think there is the smartness of crowds, you know, if you’re alone, you can be a dumb ass, but sometimes you can be carried away by the crowd and you start doing exceptionally bright things without even realizing it. And then you take part in something totally insane, like history with a capital H. You see, you can overthrow the whole system of thought and just be an ordinary guy.
Pauline: Or an ordinary chick.
