Mohamed El Khatib
The secret lives of old people
- 23.11 — 24.11 2024
- portuguese premiere
- Culturgest - Auditório Emílio Rui Vilar
- €14 (See discounts)
- ages 16+
- 1h10 min
- French with surtitles in Portuguese and in English for the deaf and hard of hearing
A manifesto for vitality and sexual desire in old age.
Does the end of life also mean the end of love?
Aging often means facing new forms of prejudice, while also contending with the loss of bodily autonomy. Despite this, quite often, love remains. Desire, too. Freed from social pressures and the pressure to perform, older people reinvent their sexuality, finding new, equally intense, forms of intimacy.
But what do we really know about how old people experience love? To answer this question, Mohamed El Khatib collected stories from people between the ages of 80 and 100, from all walks of life. Some of these older men and women now join him on stage, to share some of their secrets with us. What emerges is a somewhat nostalgic portrait of the gains and losses of lifetimes of love – and the promise that desire can nestle in the fragility of our lives until the last moment.
Credits
Original title La vie secrète des vieux Created and directed by Mohamed El Khatib With, in alternance and according to longevity Annie Boisdenghien, Micheline Boussaingault, Marriecke de Bussac, Chille Deman, Martine Devries, Jean- Pierre Dupuy, Yasmine Hadj Ali, Nicole Jourfier, Salimata Kamaté, Etienne Kretzschmar, Jacqueline Juin, Annette Sadoul, Jean Paul Sidolle Dramaturgy and artistic coordinator Camille Nauffray Set and artistic collaborator Fred Hocké Video Emmanuel Manzano Sound Arnaud Léger General manager Jonathan Douchet Production manager Gil Paon Produced by Zirlib Interviews Vanessa Larré, Marie Desgranges, Zacharie Dutertre Collaborator and rehearsal assistants Mathilde Chadeau, Vassia Chavaroche Medical advisors Virginie Tanda, Paul Ceulenaere, Vinciane Watrin Administration Cécile Boursier Press Nathalie Gasser Stage photography Yohanne Lamoulère Coproduced by Festival d’Automne à Paris, Points communs – Nouvelle scène nationale Cergy- Pontoise-Val d’Oise, Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, La Comédie de Genève, Théâtre national de Bordeaux en Aquitaine, Théâtre national de Bretagne (Rennes), Tandem Scène nationale d’Arras-Douai, MC2: Grenoble Scène nationale, La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand Scène nationale, Théâtre Garonne Scène européenne (Toulouse), Festival d’Avignon, Théâtre du Bois de l’Aune (Aix-en-Provence), Équinoxe Scène nationale de Châteauroux, Théâtre de la Croix- Rousse (Lyon), La Coursive Scène nationale de La Rochelle, Espace 1789 – Saint-Ouen, Théâtre de Saint- Quentin en Yvelines Scène nationale, Le Channel – Scène nationale de Calais Residencies Le Mucem – Marseille, CIRCA La Chartreuse Zirlib é apoiada por Zirlib is supported by Ministère de la Culture – DRAC Centre-Val de Loire, Région Centre-Val de Loire, Ville d’Orléans Mohamed El Khatib is an associated artist of Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), Théâtre National de Bretagne (Rennes), Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Presented in partnership with MaisFRANÇA, a programme for French contemporary performance in Portugal.
An author, playwright, director and artist, Mohamed El Khatib works at the intersection between performance, literature and cinema. Using intimate, social narratives, Khatib seeks to multiply encounters between art and those who have little contact with it. After “Moi, Corinne Dadat”, in which he encouraged a cleaner and a classical ballerina to reflect on their respective skills, he continued his research into the working classes with “Stadium”, featuring 58 supporters of the Racing Club de Lens. As well as his stage works, Mohamed El Khatib conducts ongoing...