A mad and legendary king, a king who never really wanted to be king, Ludwig II of Bavaria is as admired today as he was despised and misunderstood during his reign. The man who wrote “I wish to remain an eternal enigma to myself and to others” succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. It is this mysterious and explosive character that Madeleine Louarn and her handicapped actors, with whom she has been working for over 20 years, have decided to put at the centre of their next show. With their faithful companions, writer Frédéric Vossier, composer Rodolphe Burger, and choreographers Loïc Touzé and Agnieszka Ryszkiewicz, they explore the fantasies and dreams of this most romantic of kings. A multi-faceted king, Ludwig II questioned the border between “normal” and “abnormal” and sought to live to the end the excessive lyricism of romanticism as a critique of modern life. The actors of the Catalyse workshop follow the slow disintegration of the monarch, his progressive withdrawal from real life and into a world of fiction. From this downfall, they create a journey into the mind of Ludwig II, and build a landscape-play in which nature, arts, and excess all lead to the fantastic.
In 2012, Frédéric Vossier worked for the first time with the company L'Entresort, adapting Aristophanes' The Birds for the actors of Catalyse. The holder of a doctorate degree in political philosophy and the author of books about Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault, and Karl Marx, Frédéric Vossier is also interested in contemporary art, and has written for the theatre since 2004 (his texts are published by Théâtre Ouvert, Espaces 34, Quartett, and Les Solitaires Intempestifs). He has also written Lotissement (Housing Estate), directed by Tommy Milliot, which played at the 2016 edition of the Festival Impatience. In September 2015, he joined the Théâtre national de Strasbourg as artistic advisor, where he serves as director of the magazine Parages.
Distribution
Text Frédéric Vossier
Direction Madeleine Louarn
Dramaturgy Pierre Chevallier
Music Rodolphe Burger
Choreography Loïc Touzé, Agnieszka Ryszkiewicz
Stage design Marc Lainé
Lights Michel Bertrand
Costumes Claire Raison
With the actors of l'atelier Catalyse : Tristan Cantin, Guillaume Drouadaine, Christian Lizet, Christelle Podeur, Jean-Claude Pouliquen, Sylvain Robic
and the musicians Rodolphe Burger, Julien Perraudeau
Production
Production Théâtre de l'Entresort in collaboration with la Compagnie Rodolphe Burger
Co-production MC93 Maison de la Culture de la Seine-Saint-Denis, Le Quartz Scène nationale de Brest, Festival d'Avignon, Centre dramatique national d'Orléans, Théâtre du Pays de Morlaix, L'Archipel Pôle d'action culturelle Fouesnant-Les Glénan, SE/cW plateforme culturelle à Morlaix, l'ESAT des Genêts d'Or
With the participation of Jeune Théâtre National
Ludwig, un roi sur la lune by Frédéric Vossier is published by éditions Les Solitaires Intempestifs.