written and directed by didier galas
Trickster is constructed like Russian doll: just when you think you have got hold of one layer, it simply disappears into the next. From the outset, a stubborn broom opens the ball before a whole host of identities consisting of masks and languages upsets Harlequin’s burlesque mechanism. Harlequin will go so far as to unmask himself to let Person, his blank mask, appear. Person looks for his path before us in order to lead us into a boisterous and liberating ritual taking us deep within him… deep within us.
Harlequin. In theatre, he is a greedy and naive servant. During the last century the name symbolised leftovers given to the poor. Nowadays it is an adjective suggesting a mix of colours, to children it is a sweet, to rugby fans the name of a team and to book lovers a collection of airport novels. Yet Harlequin comes from Hellequin or Hierlequin, a bloodthirsty fiend as old as the hills, a Trickster.
Trickster. He is a character who can make fun of himself or others, a swindler and a prankster. This buffoon can also become diabolical; the origins of humanity can be found in him. Trickster is the baddy who makes people laugh and becomes funny as a result; he can be found in every civilisation, among Native Americans just as much as in Europe, China and Japan.
created in october 2010 in le bateau feu – dunkerque
