Phèdre – Festival de Tragédies

Phaedra is the ultimate tragic heroine, the most touching and the greatest victim of love. Torn between desire and honor, she confesses her guilty love to the young Hippolyte, son of her husband Theseus, whom she believes to have died in battle. The young man, who loves Aricie, rejects her. The confession is painful. Then another piece of news breaks, terrible for Phaedra: Theseus is not dead; he is back, and Hippolyte is with him. Phaedra ultimately succumbs to the violence of the feelings that drive her, "neither entirely guilty nor entirely innocent."

Our production of Racine's Phèdre seeks to resonate with the universal injustices contained in this classical masterpiece by highlighting a point of view that is too often overshadowed: that of Hippolyte. At the heart of this family tragedy, the young hero embodies a sacrificed innocence, swept away by the violence of passions and the inevitability of misunderstandings. Theseus, blinded by pain and jealousy, becomes the instrument of disproportionate cruelty, incapable of discerning the truth. Hippolytus, a young man guided by the rectitude and purity of his feelings, suffers a brutal condemnation that reveals not only the fragility of human relationships, but also the violence inherent in the exercise of power. Hippolytus, the incarnation of a tragic virtue. In this reading, Hippolytus is not only a victim of Phaedra's passions, but also the symbol of persecuted purity. His moral rectitude becomes a heartbreaking counterpoint to Phaedra's uncontrolled impulses and Theseus' blind anger. This figure of tragic innocence questions our own societies, where injustice often strikes the most virtuous. By restoring Hippolyte's tragic innocence to center stage, our show invites the audience to question their own perceptions of justice, guilt, and forgiveness. For while tragedy is irreversible, it also remains a mirror that invites us to reflect on our own responsibilities.

Phédre
by Jean Racine - Directed by Robin Renucci
with Nadine Darmon, Marilyne Fontaine, Solenn Goix, Serge Nicolaï, Patrick Palmero, Eugénie Pouillot, Ulysse Robin, Chani Sabaty