Ne me libérez pas je m’en charge

With “Ne me libérez pas je m'en charge”, Zabou Breitman brings to the stage the rare words of Michel Vaujour. Behind the media figure of the robber and spectacular escapee, the portrait of a man shaped by confinement, lack, and an irrepressible desire to live gradually emerges.

During twenty-seven years in prison, seventeen of which were spent in solitary confinement in a High Security Unit, Michel Vaujour never stopped trying to escape. More than a series of exploits, his journey tells of an obstinate struggle to preserve his humanity. “I learned things through lack,” he says. A lack that, far from annihilating him, sculpted him and led him towards a form of inner reconstruction. Based on the documentary by Fabienne Godet and Frank Vassal, Zabou Breitman composes a monologue of great intensity, performed by Yannick Choirat. Between raw narrative, poetic bursts, and moments of suspension, she continues her work on the transition from documentary to theatre. “I wanted this man to be heard, because his words are those of a rediscovered humanity,” she writes. Words that reveal, behind the spectacular escapes, the journey of a man who never ceased to refuse imposed solitude and to seek his own freedom. Without ever seeking to excuse or judge, Ne me libérez pas je m’en charge confronts us with profoundly universal questions: what allows a human being to stand tall? What remains when everything is lacking? What does it mean to be free? Through this extraordinary trajectory, the show gives voice to a singular and moving story. Behind the prison walls, it is ultimately the path of a rediscovered humanity that emerges.

Cast

Based on the film by Fabienne Godet and Frank Vassal, with the participation of Michel Vaujour

Adaptation and direction Zabou Breitman

Performance Yannick Choirat

Lighting Éric Soyer

Sound Yoann Blanchard

Music Delphine Malaussena

Special effects Antoine Dorize

Magic Yann Frisch

A co-production Beaubourg Productions, Théâtre de la Concorde (Paris), Anthéa Théâtre d’Antibes

With the help of the Centre d’art et de culture de Meudon and the Théâtre François Ponsard de Vienne

With the authorisation of Le Bureau

With the support of l ’ADA