► A flamboyant destiny
Sarah Bernhardt lived a thousand lives, of which we often remember only the flamboyance. We understand: the actress was free, independent, adored. A great lover, she knew how to emancipate herself from the domination of men, in a France corseted by hierarchies and patriarchy. However, Géraldine Martineau’s play has the art of going further than the myth, recalling that she was also a complex, ambivalent, painful character. Fate was cruel with this daughter of a demi-mondaine, torn apart by the early death of her sister Regina, who had a leg amputated at the end of her life…
► A joyful troupe of actors
How delicious the characters are from this turn of the century between Second Empire and Belle Époque, carried by an excellent line-up of actors. Behind a charismatic, funny, sometimes heartbreaking Sarah Bernhardt played by Estelle Meyer, we meet with delight Madame Guérard, the guardian angel of the “sacred monster”, her son Maurice, her sisters, but also Victor Hugo, George Sand, Sacha Guitry… A whirlwind of endearing figures.
► A tribute to the theater
Through a successful mise en abyme, the play celebrates theater and everything that the stage brings in its wake: freedom, bonds of affection, joy. The show vibrates with its colors, its breath, its characters who twirl, to the sound of a cello and a clarinet… To the point that we lose our bearings: are we in 2024? Or in 1900, opposite L’Aiglon, performed by Sarah Bernhardt absorbed by the verses of her dear Edmond Rostand. Beautiful, in the white uniform of Napoleon’s fallen son.
Until December 31 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris, written and directed by Géraldine Martineau, with Estelle Meyer, duration: 1 hour 45 minutes. Reservation on: theatrepalaisroyal.com
