A man about to drown is struggling in the water. His silhouette can only be discerned vaguely in the dark space of the theatre.
Syllable by syllable, the text is spoken with crystal clarity and perfect sharpness. Nine pages from the autobiographical novel The Boat in the Evening by Norwegian author Tarjei Vesaas provide enough material for Claude Régy to engage in a profound reflection on a fundamental human instinct – the quest for survival.
La Barque le soir is a stage production that ventures into difficult terrain. Claude Régy does not choose the route of superficial cognition: “Doubt is more accurate than knowledge because the latter is only an illusion.” For seven decades, this French director has been uncompromisingly and consistently true to his concept of theatre by building chapels for the poetry of language.
French director Claude Régy, born 1923, is well known for his plays by such authors as Botho Strauss, Peter Handke, Sarah Kane and Jon Fosse to name a few.
