Bérénice loves the emperor Titus, but is forced to contain her emotions when the empire renders her love impossible. In Romeo Castellucci’s version of Jean Racine’s classic tragedy from 1670, the drama, rather than the story of a conflict, is more of an extended ceremony of parting. It is a tragedy without the spilling of blood, in which the pain is internal and in which abstinence, courtesy and chastity become dangerous weapons.

Isabelle Huppert is the true center and motor of this piece. Her austere, magnetic stage presence carries the entire performance and embodies not only the figure she portrays but also theatre as a concept. She is the only one who speaks. Her fellow performers appear as silent bodies in carefully choreographed moves.

Practically all the sound in this piece originates in Huppert’s voice and expands into an entire sound landscape. The performance space is characterized by slow shifts in light and sound.

Draperies, projections, mechanical objects and bodies in collective movement build associations to ritual processions. All of it low-keyed, slowed down and controlled. The performance unfolds as a sensual and intellectual experience. A piece that speaks through form, tempo and precision. A tragedy that does not cry out, but rather lingers on.

Romeo Castellucci is one of the most influential directors in contemporary European scenic art. After studying scenography and painting in Bologna he founded Societas Raffaello Sanzio in 1981 together with Claudia Castellucci and Chiara Guidi. Since then he has developed an uncompromising, visually driven style of theatre in which the word often becomes secondary to the body, the room, lighting and material presence. Works such as Tragedia Endogonidia, La Divina Commedia and Bros have secured his position as an artist who reshapes and challenges the limits of the stage. His pieces regularly appear on leading international stages and have been rewarded with, among other distinctions, the European theatre prize and the Golden Lion at The Venice Biennale. Bérénice is the first of his works to be presented in Gothenburg.

Isabelle Huppert is one of the most prominent actresses in modern French cinema. With a long international career and collaborations with directors like Claude Chabrol, Michael Haneke and Paul Verhoeven, she is known for her precise and analytical acting style. Having over a hundred film roles to her credit as well as prizes from Cannes, Berlin and Venice – and an Oscar nomination – she has come to personify a specific French acting tradition: intellectual, unpredictable and emotionally exact. In Bérénice she deepens her work with the language and passion of classical tragedy as she appears for the first time at the Gothenburg City Theatre.

Performed in French, with Swedish surtitles.

On Stage

Isabelle Huppert

Featuring
Cheikh Kébé, Giovanni Armando Romano

Local Extras
Names to be announced at a later date

Artistic Team

Concept and Direction
Romeo Castellucci

Based on the Text by
Jean Racine

Music
Scott Gibbons

Costume Design
Iris van Herpen

Assistant Director
Silvano Voltolina

Dramaturgy
Bernard Pautrat

Technical Team

Technical Management
Eugenio Resta, Lorenzo Camera, Carmen Castellucci, Francesca Di Serio, Gionni Gardini

Stage Technicians
Andrei Benchea, Stefano Valandro

Lighting Operator
Andrea Sanson

Sound Technician
Claudio Tortorici

Lighting Console Technicians
Chiara Venturini, Madeleine Tessier (stage)

Hair and Make-up
Sylvie Cailler, Jocelyne Milazzo

Stage Sculptures and Mechanics
Plastikart Studio Amoroso & Zimmermann

Production

Production Management
Benedetta Briglia, Marko Rankov

Tour Management
Giulia Colla, Bruno Jacob

Organisation
Caterina Soranzo

Production Assistant
Gilda Biasini

Choir Direction
Silvano Voltolina

Movement Double
Serena Dibiase

Prompter
Agathe Vidal

Executive Producer
Societas, Printemps des Comédiens Montpellier

Co-produced by

Théâtre de la Ville–Paris, Comédie de Genève, Ruhrtriennale, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, deSingel, Temporada Alta, Teatro di Napoli – Teatro Nazionale, Onassis Stegi, Triennale Milano Teatro, National Taichung Theater, Holland Festival, LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura, TAP Théâtre Auditorium de Poitiers – Scène Nationale, Comédie de Clermont Ferrand, Théâtre National de Bretagne – Centre dramatique national

Single tickets released on 21 May.

Presented with generous support from the Sten A. Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture.

Supported by
Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, Stichting Ammodo