Last week was a very prolific week for Absent. While previews of 'Patience' have been staged in London, our writer, Eleanor, was at the Avignon Festival with a French translation of 'Old Rabbis in the Sky' (or 'Les Vieux Rabbins Dans Le Ciel').
Read Eleanor's account below:
On a gloriously hot day myself, Cyrielle Garson and our two stunning actresses, Loren Troubat and Pauline Vermeule headed to the University of Avignon. I had been busy exploring the Festival, while the girls had been considering how to stage the reading. They decided to use the characters, by placing their names on the ground and moving between them, so that the audience was more aware the relationships between them. This was a formula of reading I was unfamiliar with, but after a little tweaking in rehearsal it worked perfectly for the script. All we had to do now was to wait for an audience!
Well we had a small turnout for the Performed Reading of ‘Old Rabbis in the Sky’ but it was an unmitigated success. The feedback and comments after the reading lasted longer than the theatre and was insightful and positive. Many commented on the high standard of the translation, the use of heightened language and how well it had been translated into the French. At the same time everyone noted how the play remained faithful to my voice and to its Englishness. There was one Parisian student, who found the play very moving, and several asked to see copies of the text in both French and English.
Needless to say after discovering not only the epic and utopian Avignon Festival, but also the very talented translator Cyrielle Garson, we are planning to return if possible next year, both Amy and I taking Absent Theatre international. All I can say is a big thank you to Cyrielle, Loren Troubat and Pauline Vermeule for all their hard work and their hospitality. It was a week not to be forgotten.
Eleanor
Stay tuned for more international Absent Theatre news coming soon.
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