Liliom – Directed by Jean Bellorini / 2019 tour

© Pascal Victor Liliom Text: Ferenc Molnár Direction: Jean Bellorini Translation: Kristina Rády, Alexis Moati, Stratis Vouyoucas / Chinese translation: Jing Wang Set and lighting: Jean Bellorini Music: Jean Bellorini, Lidwine de Royer Dupré, Hugo Sablic, Sébastien Trouvé Costumes: Laurianne Scimemi, assisted by Marta Rossi Makeup: Laurence Aué With: Julien Bouanich, Amandine Calsat, Delphine Cottu, Jacques Hadjaje, Clara Mayer, Julien Cigana, Teddy Melis, Marc Plas, Morgane Le Cuff, Hugo Sablic, Sébastien Trouvé, Damien Vigouroux Technical team: Luc Muscillo, Guillaume Chapeleau, Frédéric Gillmann, François Sallé Dates: March 29, 30, and 31, 2019 at 7:30 PM at the Beijing People’s Art Theatre April 5 and 6, 2019 at 7:00 PM at the Harbin Grand Theatre Running time: 2h05 Premiered in October 2014 Production: Théâtre Gérard Philipe, CDN de Saint-Denis Organization: Hybridités France-Chine Association With the support of the Institut français © Pascal Victor Overview “Liliom [a play written in 1909 by the Hungarian writer Ferenc Molnár] tells the story of a fairground barker, a hoodlum with the face of an angel who reigns over this kingdom of illusions; he falls in love with a young maid, Julie. Their budding story opens up a field of freedom and hope; change becomes possible. But the circle closes again: unemployment, scheming, poverty, and blows make their appearance. In the midst of this dull resignation and this despair, a future emerges. The child is on the way and Liliom starts to dream again. He plans a departure to America for his future family. But to finance this trip, he must commit an act that will drag him toward his downfall… The play is enigmatic. It is a fable. There is an alternation between realism and dream. Liliom is a character who goes around in circles; he is one of those who stay on the side of the road. He is incapable of being the author of his own life. Incapable of becoming an adult. The characters have dreams—their heads are in the stars—but the violence of their reality keeps them firmly anchored to the ground. Finally, in Liliom, thanks to Ferenc Molnár’s writing, there is a particular relationship to language. One senses how much the man deprived of language remains imprisoned. So, through this denunciation, it is a hymn to literature, a hymn to the theater of the word. In my view, Liliom must be treated in the mode of varietà, with constant shifts from laughter to tears. And then there is the presence of the poorly dressed man who tells us the story. He is the heartbeat of the narrative. We must never forget that we are at the theater.” Jean Bellorini Jean Bellorini © Guillaume Chapeleau Jean Bellorini trained at the École Claude Mathieu. In 2001 he founded the Compagnie Air de Lune, within which he directed several shows (among others Chekhov’s The Seagull in 2003, and L’Opérette, one act of Valère Novarina’s Opérette imaginaire in 2010). In 2012 he directed Paroles gelées, after an episode from Rabelais’s Fourth Book, then in 2013 Liliom, or The Life and Death of a Scoundrel by Ferenc Molnár, at the Printemps des Comédiens (Montpellier). In 2014 he received the Molière Award for best director of a public-theater production for his two stagings Paroles gelées and The Good Person of Szechwan. He has directed the Théâtre Gérard Philipe, national drama center of Saint-Denis, since January 2014. Cultural outreach March 30, 2019 at the Beijing People’s Art Theatre 10:00 AM: meeting with the public 1:30 PM: discussion about the set design of Liliom with students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts of China 2:30 PM: meeting with the young actors of the People’s Art Theatre March 31, 2019 at the Central Academy of Fine Arts of China 10:00 AM: meeting and workshop with Fine Arts students © Pascal Victor