Capra (Une Chèvre) - Theatre Gerard Philipe, St Denis

Why make theatre? To answer the question, director Jeanne Candel draws on two sources. The first is mythological: it is linked to the story of Dionysus and to the Western origins of theatre and the mask. The other concerns an ancient mnemonic technique, based on places and images, which consisted of creating memory palaces in which different kinds of memories and stories could be stored in the mind. Over the centuries, this method has endured as a way to remember, to pass on stories, or to resist horror.

By evoking the myth of Dionysus or the story of François Le Lionnais, who survived the hell of a concentration camp by bringing back from memory the paintings he had seen at the Louvre, the show celebrates the power of the mind, humanism and friendship.

With her fine company of performers and musicians, Jeanne Candel brings to life the stirrings of the soul in a small community hall, moving between mirage and exposed technique. It thus continues work begun with Baùbo and Fusées: the group delights in making events appear while showing us the workings behind them. The interplay between acting and music is central.

Under the musical direction of Thibault Perriard, composite instruments are invented, drawing inspiration from a wide variety of references. CAPRA (a goat) answers the desire to make theatre from its most elementary mechanisms, handled by virtuoso artists, in order to give rise to powerful emotions. In this story, at once dark and luminous, the force of imagination unfolds, enabling the human soul, in the worst moments of barbarity, to find the resources needed to survive.