Review: BÉRÉNICE at Grand Théâtre

Last week, we had the pleasure of attending Romeo Castellucci’s Bérénice, a show based on the 17th century play by Jean Racine. Our leading actress was the great Isabelle Huppert, around whom an amazing constellation of artists delivered a unique retelling of this timeless tale. In the year 79 AD, in a Roman Empire at the peak of its power, the son of the emperor returns to Rome with his beloved Berenice, after a military campaign. However, the political establishment does not seem willing to see its future emperor taint his name by marring a Jewish princess, and fiercely opposes their union.

The gold: Isabelle Huppert. While this play was a monologue and no performer had as much time on stage as Huppert, a 20 minute role would probably still have earned her this position in our podium. If you want to see an actress at the top of her game, then don’t miss this show. With her tone range, body language and emotional depth, she gave us the hope of a loving bride-to-be, the anxiety of someone about to lose her world, the despair of those left with nothing and the resignation of the irredeemably broken.

The silver: The atmosphere. The setting was not a Rome where pain happens, it was pain embodied through a Roman aesthetic. The surrealist atmosphere displayed the shadowy power plays of the Roman elite, yet showed you all too well the crude human nature of all these social actors. The light and sound mirrored formidably the light of hope, the darkness of tragedy, the heartfelt peaks of anticipation and the surrender to sinking aspirations. The scene with the bust was perhaps the most aesthetically meaningful, and one that displayed both the unique historical complexity of that period and still a frightening sense of timelessness.

The bronze: The dancing duo. While the choreography itself did not amaze you for its complexity, their gracefulness and absolute synchronization did. The two main dancers were not given a lot of time to shine, but their presence on stage was one that added new layers of depth to a play that already counted with Huppert’s titanic spoken word.

As usual, our thanks to the Grand Théâtre and everyone involved.

To reach out to the writer: nuno.de.sousa.lopes@gmail.com

Photo Credit: © Michel Blasco

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