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Of course, as you can guess, it will be about Phaedra, the most famous and most performed of Racine’s tragedies. However, although she is its main subject, she will not be the real subject of this show. The latter is hidden behind the exclamation mark, that punctuation mark which, in Racine’s time, was called the admiration mark (from the Latin admirari, composed of ad- and mirari, “to admire”, “to be astonished”).

Indeed, the real subject of Phèdre ! is the admiration that its sole protagonist – Romain, a manner of orator – has for Racine’s tragedy. An admirer, by definition, views something that seems beautiful, that seems marvellous, with a mixture of astonishment and pleasure.

My ambition is to share this astonishment and pleasure with the audience by simultaneously addressing different facets of the play thanks to a speaker brimming with enthusiasm: Racine’s unique and marvellous language, the strength of the passions he depicts better than anyone else, the mythological origins of the protagonists (Phaedra, “daughter of Minos and Pasiphae”, granddaughter of the Sun, half-sister of the Minotaur), the historical context of the writing of the play (classical French theatre of the seventeenth century).

In fact, I intend nothing less than to share – in addition to my admiration for Phaedra in particular – my love for the theatre in general, this living art that never ceases to celebrate the profound joy of being in the world.

One theory is that the origin of the exclamation mark comes from the exclamation of joy, io in Latin, abbreviated with an i over an o.

Thus, as in all my shows – and even though Racine’s play is a tragedy – Phèdre ! will be about joy, that “major force” whose “privilege is to know how to triumph over the worst of sorrows”, as the philosopher Clément Rosset admirably summarizes.

A performance brimming with energy and wit, a celebration of admiration and the pure joy of being in the theatre.

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Assistant director: Mathias Brossard

Lighting: Stéphane Gattoni

Touring assistants: Floriane Mésenge, Mathias Brossard, Arnaud Huguenin

With: Romain Daroles

Production: 2b company

Executive production: Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne

With the support of: City of Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, Loterie Romande, Migros Culture Percentage, Hirzel Stiftung, CORODIS, Pro Helvetia, Swiss Arts Council

With the production, technical, communication, and administrative teams of Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne

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