At La Commanderie in Dole, Corinne Lordier takes over as La Madeleine Proust in a show combining lockdown, memories and plain speaking.
About this event in the Jura in Dole
La Madeleine faces lockdown
At La Commanderie in Dole, La Madeleine Proust returns with a show set during lockdown. The set is very similar to that of the previous show, while the character straddles the worlds of new technology and times gone by.
Her plain speaking remains the thread running through her reflections. She discusses ecology, philosophises about the absurdity of products made on the other side of the world and about the media, and offers nods to marriage equality. With her common sense, she also gives her views on that notorious lockdown which turned so many lives upside down.
Humour, poetry and memories
The show combines humour, poetry and incisive reflections. La Madeleine continues to seek out her own little Proustian madeleines, those smells of soup and gâteau de ménage that accompany her evocation of the past.
These memories sit alongside her observations on changes in everyday life: the character moves between times gone by and new technology, without overlooking the social issues that inform her words.
Corinne Lordier takes over the character
This return features a different actress, Corinne Lordier. In the text announcing this handover, the previous performer expresses her delight at passing on the baton and explains that she will direct the new performer herself.
The character’s continuity rests on several explicitly announced elements: Corinne Lordier will have the Haut-Doubs accent, will have undertaken the same physical work as the woman passing the role on to her, and will perform her text with all her talent. She will also bring her own energy and fresh ideas to her performance.
This room for personal interpretation is accompanied by a quotation from Bashung: “Betray me”.
A role already explored in an earlier show
Corinne Lordier has already played Madeleine in “La Madeleine Proust Goes Around the World”, but then lip-syncing to a recorded voice. In some scenes of that show, there were therefore two Madeleines on stage.
The announcement of this new handover expresses both the joy of passing on the role and that of rediscovering the character: “La Madeleine is back!”