Review "Andromache" by Emilie Jeanne: a contemporary tragedy

A modernized version of Jean Racine's tragedy Andromaque can be seen at Théâtre Le Guichet Montparnasse on Saturdays and Sundays from October 16 to November 8, 2020. 

Andromache, a classic tragedy

In Andromache, Racine depicts the love passions of the characters, driven to fury and madness by their jealousy and thirst for revenge. Andromache (played by Natacha Simic) loves her husband Hector, killed by Achilles during the Trojan War. Pyrrhus (played by Antoine Terrones), son of Achilles, loves Andromache. Hermione (played by Emilie Joan), daughter of the king of Sparta, loves Pyrrhus and has been promised to him. Orestes (played by Mansour Bel Hadj), ambassador of the Greeks, loves Hermione. In the name of the Greeks, Orestes comes to ask Pyrrhus that Andromache's son be executed. Pyrrhus then sees an opportunity to make Andromache bend to his sighs.

Epirus today

Emilie Jeanne's staging considerably modernizes Racine's Andromache. The costumes are contemporary and contrasting. The décor is modern and simple: a bench, a table and a sofa occupy the space. A projected image makes it possible to identify the location of the scene and to know in which room of the palace the action takes place. A "modern" phrase without real context comes at the beginning of the representation slipping between two alexandrines in order to confirm this desire for modernization. Similarly, Hermione chews together verses and chips to prove to the public that banal activity and tragedy are far from incompatible.

Andromache made more accessible

The four confidants of the main characters are replaced by voice-overs played by the actors who are not on stage. It is thus easier to identify the different protagonists because these confidants turn into a small voice in the heads of the characters. The viewer's visual memory is thus less solicited and the follow-up of the story is simplified. The addition of these voice-overs also gives a more intimate side to the scenes in which they appear. Similarly, the play of light stopping all life in the darkness and isolating in the space of a second a character alone on stage make it possible to punctuate the play and make it more alive. The staging of Andromaque would have benefited from truly modernizing Racine's work rather than wanting to show that it modernizes it, but nevertheless reserves a warm and generous welcome to its audience.