Monsieur Vénus

Based on Monsieur Vénus by Rachilde Music Martin Matalon Adaptation Alfredo Arias Directed and choreographed by Alfredo Arias, Diana Theocharidis Costumes Chloé Obolensky assisted by Luca Costigliolo Conc

Based on Monsieur Vénus by Rachilde

Music Martin Matalon

Adaptation Alfredo Arias

Directed and choreographed by Alfredo Arias, Diana Theocharidis

Costumes Chloé Obolensky assisted by Luca Costigliolo

Sound design Rémi Le Taillandier

Lighting Alfredo Arias

With

Raoule de Vénérande Clara Barbier Serrano (soprano)

L’Intruse Diana Theocharidis (actress and dancer)

Anthony Millet (bandoneon, accordion, accordina)

And with the participation of Alfredo Arias

8pm

4pm on Sundays

Duration 1h10

Rachilde’s Monsieur Vénus is one of the most provocative and pre-queer novels in French literature. Alfredo Arias and Diana Theocharidis have chosen to bring this work to the stage in a monodrama sung by Clara Barbier Serrano, accompanied by Martin Matalon’s accordions. A minimalist form for a boundless passion, that of Raoule, who both shapes and destroys the being she desires and the woman she is.

Written in 1884 and published with the dedication “We dedicate this book to physical beauty”, Rachilde’s novel Monsieur Vénus is considered one of the most scandalous and provocative works of its time. It was banned then censored, and its author, a young Parisian aristocrat of only 24, had to face legal consequences.

Monsieur Vénus tells the story of Raoule de Vénérande, an aristocrat and femme fatale, and Jacques Silvert, a young man from the working class who falls into Raoule’s hands. Both are engaged in an unequal relationship, in which she imposes the inversion of their genders and sexes. Yet, it is not the desire to escape boredom nor the search for sexual pleasure that drives Raoule, but the radical ambition to create a new identity for herself, more satisfying than the monotonous and burdensome social role imposed upon her. In a minimalist and hypnotic staging, Alfredo Arias and Diana Theocharidis distill the disturbing essence of the novel to its most burning core: