“You’re the one who wanted to come! », Reminds Sam (Sébastien Azzopardi) to his wife Valentine, known as Val (Miren Pradier). Sitting on a white fabric sofa, the two characters face their psychologist, the audience of the Théâtre Michel. In pain – each has hurt the other – they don’t know if they still have things to share after twenty years of living together.
What is certain is that they have scores to settle, their “side of the story” – title of the play – to tell, their own truths to convey. Obviously, they differ depending on the point of view of the protagonists. For once, Sébastien Azzopardi does not solicit the viewer, in his new comedy. The latter is a passive witness to these larger-than-life scenes of married life.
Like Bergman, the author draws inspiration from his sentimental experiences, but has the good idea of laughing about them. Sam and Val have a teenage son (Alexandre Nicot) who wants to introduce them to his girlfriend (Déborah Leclercq). He begs them not to call him by his pet names (“Sugar”, “Darling”, etc.). The parent-child exchanges ring true. The dialogues between the father and the mother are spiced up as needed and the back and forths in the past are carried out with flying colors. We watch for Val’s unstoppable response, Sam’s unillusioned pout. Sébastien Azzopardi, very clever, succeeds in balancing the situations, the grievances and the expectations of the two spouses. Will they manage to overcome the obstacles that have undermined their love?
Also read: A Feeling of Life, at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord: powerful
We have a lot of fun, there is no room for boredom. Impeccable, the actors comb their hair, grab a hairpiece, put on a shirt or a vest at lightning speed. The decor of removable transparent panels by Juliette Azzopardi brings a touch of refinement and allows a distance to be established with the “patients”. If, in the room, couples recognize each other, any resemblance to existing or former people is purely coincidental… Philippe Lacombe’s lights and the videos (Nathalie Cabrol, assisted by Jérémy Secco) do the rest.
In a few notes composed by Romain Trouillet (The Turing Machine), we find ourselves in the family apartment, at Roissy airport and even in Portofino, on the Italian Riviera, before a finale in the form of a festival of colors and music, in beauty.
My version of the story, at the Théâtre Michel (Paris 8th). Such. : 01 42 65 35 02.