Birds of a Kind
© Simon GOSSELIN
Program Information
| Genre / City | Theatre / Paris |
|---|---|
| Dates | 25 April at 12:30, 26 April at 12:30 |
| Venue | at Shizuoka Arts Theatre |
| Duration | 240 minutes (with intermission) |
| Language | In German, English, Hebrew and Arabic with Japanese subtitles |
| seat | Reserved seating |
| Text and direction | Wajdi MOUAWAD |
| Production | La Colline – national theatre |
Introduction
A Wajdi MOUAWAD embarks on a new phase of theatre creation with this gripping, large-scale production.
Born in Lebanon in 1968, Wajdi MOUAWAD was taken to France at the age of eight then Canada when his family moved there to escape the civil war. Now recognized internationally as a leading dramatist, in 2016 the playwright, director and actor was appointed artistic director of the state-funded La Colline – national theatre theatre in Paris.
“Birds of a Kind,” which was his first play after that, became a major hit after its 2017 premiere at La Colline — and is now set to be the prestigious, hot-ticket opening program of this year’s World Theatre Festival Shizuoka.
Centered around a “forbidden” romance between a German man who is Jewish, and an Arab-American woman, the storyline follows them and families from New York to the Middle East.
During the play, as German, English, Hebrew and Arabic are spoken to respect the geography of characters, it shows also that languages can be barriers separating friends and enemies. and appear to be integral to this mind-blowing theatre experience.
Synopsis
Dynamited by the violence of the world, the intimate story of Eitan, a young German scientist of Israeli origin confronted with a violent conflict with his father, shows how, in fratricidal struggles, no reality can dominate an other.
Every conflict conceals a labyrinth where goes the frightful monster of forgotten heritages.
Director’s Profile
Wajdi MOUAWAD
Born in Lebanon in 1968, the author, actor, and director Wajdi MOUAWAD spent his adolescence in France, and his young adult years in Quebec. He graduated from the National Theatre School in Canada in 1991. He adapts and stages contemporary and classical plays as well as his own texts (published by Leméac / Actes Sud). He also writes children’s stories and wrote the novels “Visage retrouvé” (2002) and “Anima” (2012). Translated into twenty languages, his work is published and produced throughout the world.
In 2000 he became artistic director of the Quat’Sous Theatre in Montreal and then of the French Theatre at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (2008-2012). He was the associate artist of the 2009 Avignon Festival where he staged the quartet “Le Sang des promesses (The Blood of Promises)” and of the Grand T-Nantes theatre from 2011. He established two theatre companies: the Abé Carré Cé Carré-Québec and the Au Carré de l’Hypoténuse-France. In 2016 he was named artistic director of La Colline – théâtre national in Paris.
The last opus of “Des Mourants” comprised of his solo “Inflammation du verbe vivre” and of the “Larmes d’OEdipe” (still touring) completes the “Dernier Jour de sa vie”, a five-year adventure on the seven tragedies by Sophocles. He also continues working on his production of the “Domestique” cycle, of which his solo “Seuls” is the first chapter, followed by “Soeurs” and soon by “Frères”, “Père” and “Mère”. He has adapt his production of the “Abduction from the Seraglio” by Mozart at the Opera in Lyon 2016. After “Birds of a Kind”, he staged his following productions at La Colline : “Notre innocence” in May 2018, “Fauves” in May 2019 and “Mort prématurée d’un chanteur dans la force de l’âge” in November 2019, currently touring in France.
Talks
◎Pre-performance talk: Starting 25 minutes before each performance
Cast / Staff
Text and direction: Wajdi MOUAWAD
Cast: Jalal ALTAWIL, Jérémie GALIANA, Helene GRASS, Victor DE OLIVEIRA, Leora RIVLIN, Nelly LAWSON, Darya SHEIZAF, Rafael TABOR, Raphael WEINSTOCK
Assistant director: Valérie NÈGRE
Assistant director on tour: Oriane FISCHER
Dramaturgy: Charlotte FARCET
Artistic collaboration: François ISMERT
Historic adviser: Natalie ZEMON DAVIS
Original music: Eleni KARAINDROU
Set design: Emmanuel CLOLUS
Lighting design: Éric CHAMPOUX
Sound design: Michel MAURER
Costumes design: Emmanuelle THOMAS, assisted by Isabelle FLOSI
Make-up and hair design: Cécile KRETSCHMAR
Translation into Hebrew: Eli BIJAOUI
Translation into English: Linda GABORIAU
Translation into German: Uli MENKE
Translation into Arabic: Jalal ALTAWIL
Subtitles preparation and operation: Uli MENKE
Production: La Colline – national theatre 
With the support of Fonds de dotation du Quartz – Scène nationale de Brest
Subtitle translation: FUJII Shintaro
Interpretation: HIRANO Akihito, OHARA Hana
Production:YUKIOKA Jun, TAKABAYASHI Rie
Notice
*Not recommended for children under the age of 15.
●On Sunday, 26 April, GRANSHIP volunteers from Shizuoka Convention & Arts Center will provide free childcare at GRANSHIP during the performance for pre-school children aged 2 years and over. To make a reservation, please contact our ticket center* by 19 April.
*For your request mail to mail@spac.or.jp with following information;
title: RSV special room or free childcare
text:
Name of Parent
Name of Child
Age / Gender of Child
Contact of Parent
Any Special Notes
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