The world as we know it?

“In the world” is the at first elliptical, then devastating title of the newest play in Joël Pommerat’s trilogy now on in Gennevilliers : if it is possible to approach the piece wondering what place the playwright has in mind (the world of…?), it becomes disturbingly evident before long that it is the world we live in, as the privileged inhabitants of a wealthy and stable European country. A world run by a mysteriously busy, nearly invisible management, in dark suits and high heels, whose men captain business and industry as calmly as they brush their teeth, and whose women offer themselves as entertainment on TV every night with the same unfailingly cheerful songs. The world of the ruling class, and as such “Au monde” makes an illuminating counterpoint to the aspirations and concerns of the working class explored in another play of the trilogy, “Les Marchands” (see review on www.parisvoice.com). But what is wrong with this place?

As always in Pommerat’s theater, the signs are clearly posted, indicating a massive social breakdown, but no solutions : emotional sterility, merciless market forces, families who amount to nothing greater than a group of people living under the same roof, children who serve as interior ornamentation for preoccupied parents… As in other works also, the almost brutal force of the message holds a mesmerizing power by the nature of its smooth delivery, in a monochromatic palette punctuated by stark bands of light, and with the familiar audio cues of TV, radio and advertising. Rather than forcing us to avert our gaze, Pommerat commands our attention.

Against just such a desolate, muted and apparently “normal” landscape for its inhabitants, (here, some kind of vast family-owned and operated international conglomerate responsible, we are told, for the fortunes of countless people around the world), the play engages a debate on the nature of happiness, in the tension between two characters. If both can agree (oddly, under the circumstances, and in contrast to the work ethic of the working class of “Les Marchands”) that this begins with freedom from employment, they disagree on how this social revolution may come about. For the one, pure human energy will render work unnecessary by creating everything man needs to live through a process of combustion. For the other, a hysteria of production and consumer purchasing will inevitably lead to a point where no more goods need to be produced, and all may retire. Their fantastical musings coalesce around the homecoming of the one character who has a handle on reality, a brother who resigns a promising career in the military to quietly perform some as yet unknown, “profound” act. But Pommerat’s social vision is pitiless, and the brother is swallowed up by the same lurking malaise, a kind of implacable, malign force that manifests itself in the presence of a roaming serial killer and the unnervingly amplified footsteps and haunting dreams of his fellow family members. The play ends with the inevitable news that, after having mysteriously lost his sight, he has succumbed to the wishes of his father to take over the family business. And so the blind are led by the blind...

With this trilogy, which also includes “D’une seule main”, Pommerat signs a blisteringly bleak social critique, masterfully interpreted by the Compagnie Louis Brouillard. The fact that Pommerat is one of the few important French directors to also regularly apply his skills to children’s theater (“Le Petit chaperon rouge”, currently touring in the Paris area, and the new “Pinnochio” at the Théâtre de l’Odéon in March), speaks for his pedagogical intentions. His lessons are not easily assimilated but deserve our attention, for the strength of their convictions and the art and passion with which these are conveyed.

“La trilogie de Joël Pommerat”, to Feb. 17, see website for exact dates and times: www.theatre2gennevilliers.com, 41 avenue des Grésillons, Gennevilliers (92), Mº Gennevilliers-Gabriel Péri, 8€-22€, tel: 01.41.32.26.10.

Photo Credit: Elisabeth Carecchio