SHÉHÉRAZADE: At the Pantheon. I will marry the man who will bring my father's ashes to the Pantheon.
FRANKY: Well... No problem... Where's that? I’ll take him to the Pantheon. Where are the ashes? I’ll go to the Pantheon, I’ll put the ashes there and I’ll come back. You know what? I’ll take the metro to avoid traffic jams. That way I'll be back straight away./span>
On stage, the main character, Shéhérazade, begins a dance where she gives life to all those who will make and unmake her fate one by one. How to not get bitten, how to glide, wave, squirm, and hypnotise your fellow beings to achieve your ends? A crate. A crate of raw, worn down, aged wood. A Pandora's box, carrying the father’s life and the whole universe revolving around Schéhérazade. A box with a variable shape that she manipulates at will, using her own metamorphosis and the one she projects onto others, in order to move along the uncertain thread of her fate. In this cruel fable, it is Scheherazade’s turn to enter the dance, to twist her neck to look at her destiny and find the step that will take her where she wants to go, even if that means corrupting herself in her own eyes. A world with dangerously open doors, where only lies can help you progress, where honesty is synonymous with death, and perhaps to which the devil alone will find the key.
Text and performance Nasser Djemaï | Dramaturgy and direction by Natacha Diet | Musical creation Alexandre Meyer | Lighting design and accessories David Gallaire | Costumes Magali Castellan | Coach José Redondo
Associate production: Compagnie Nasser Djemaï | Co-production: Le Bateau-Feu / Scène nationale de Dunkerque, Théâtre 71 / Scène nationale de Malakoff | With support for the drama production from DRAC Ile-de-France / Ministry of Culture and writing support from the National Book Centre | With the support of La Valise (Bitche, 57) and Fontenay-en-Seine | Text published by Actes-Sud Papiers.
The Nasser Djemaï troupe has been commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Communication - D.R.A.C. Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and subsidised by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, the Departmental Council of Isère and the City of Grenoble.
Creation on 14th October 2008 - Le Bateau Feu, Scène Nationale de Dunkerque – 70 shows
Shown from 2008 to 2009
Le Théâtre, Scène conventionnée d’Auxerre • Comédie de Saint-Etienne • Théâtre 71, Scène nationale de Malakoff • Le Sémaphore, Cébazat • Maison des Arts, Thonon • L’Hexagone, Scène nationale de Meylan
Shown from 2005 - 2012
La Filature, Scène nationale de Mulhouse • Le Manège, Scène nationale de Maubeuge • LARC, Scène nationale du Creusot • Domaine d’Ô, Montpellier • La Ferme de bel ébat, Guyancourt
Shown from 2010 to 2011
Le Volcan, Scène nationale du Havre • Théâtre Gérard Philipe à Fontenay-sous-Bois • Théâtre National de Nice