Laurène Marx
Jag et Johnny
septembersept 13 – 27
© Blithe William ©
Text Laurène Marx, Jessica Guilloud (dite Jag), d’après l’histoire
de Jessica Guilloud. Staging Laurène Marx. With Jessica Guilloud.
Production compagnie Hande Kader ; Bureau des Filles
Théâtre Ouvert and the Festival d’Automne à Paris present this show in co-realisation.
In line with Laurène Marx's pared-down theatre, Jag stands alone in front of a microphone separating her from the audience and delivers a stand-up act tinged with sadness. She tells of her return to the environment she originates from, the white working class population of Isère.
Jag and Johnny is an encounter, between the language of Laurène Marx and the orality of the actress Jessica Guilloud. Without resorting to any form of misery porn, Jessica evokes the places of her childhood — teenage girl bedrooms, grandparents' living rooms, village halls — in which she feels comfortable, while acknowledging that she no longer belongs there. Oscillating between the traumatic history of her dog Johnny and her own journey, she looks into her feelings of guilt born from the rejection of her culture of origin. The virulence of the story and the precision of her address to the audience enables Laurène Marx to detach herself from the sociological vision of the individual who defects from his or her social class, and the academic vocabulary that goes with it. The piece shows how an individual’s upward journey from one social class to another is far from being a foregone conclusion. Indeed, it is possible to get stuck between the two.
See also
In the same place