Savannah Bay
About the show
Paris' Théâtre de l’Atelier brings this New York Premiere by feminist writer Marguerite Duras to the 2015 Next Wave Festival where two women, in the half-light of memory, form a bond in the space left by forgetting. More…
Two women in a pristine white room: one young, one old. “Who was she?” one asks the other, referring to a third who had long ago met a boy, fallen in love, and bore his child before promptly drowning herself. Unfolding in the melancholic half-light of memory, this Paris production brings the play’s lyrical dialogue to life, creating an impressionistic tapestry of loneliness and connection. The play is performed in French with English subtitles.
"Ponderous. Obscure. Pretentious. French. Any and all of those adjectives could be aptly applied to 'Savannah Bay…' Ms. Mnich and Ms. Vialle — clearly actors of considerable talent — perform with a conviction that almost persuades you something interesting is taking place onstage…'Savannah Bay' exemplifies a certain strain in European theater and movies that equates obscurity with profundity, as opposed to a smoke screen for vacuousness." Full Review
for a previous production "The two actresses are remarkable in their transparency and truthfulness. Director Bezace has managed to brilliantly focus the intersection of reality and theatricality...This is a work that demands attentiveness, but, if you accept its invitation, offers an evocative evening of theatre, full of silence and emotional beauty." Full Review
for a previous production "Directed with authority by Didier Bezace....Poetic and evocative...Duras' simple rhythmic, repetitive language is mesmerizing and pleasing to the ear. As satisfying as the distinct visual experience is, 'Savannah Bay' is a production where you want to make sure you listen and hear every word being said." Full Review
for a previous production "Directed with an aesthetic, poignant eye by Didier Bezace, 'Savannah Bay' offers the audience not so much a story as a fragment, radiant and evocative but dominated more by illusion than truth...Duras’s play does not unfold dramatically as much as lyrically, taking us into the heart of this intimate space between two women. Performed in a hushed and lyric French, the production resonates with the fragility of the human connection and the anguish of isolation. Particularly moving for mothers... Full Review
for a previous production "While I did not find the play or the production of it to be a gripping and ultimately unforgettable one, I did revel in the fact that it is intriguing and definitely not paint-by-the-numbers. Didier Bezace's direction allows for an intimate production that's well-suited to such an intimate play. The focus is rightly on Duras' words...Poetry on stage. That's what it is." Full Review
for a previous production "It seems like the director had his mind set on the fact that the play makes sense. It doesn’t. I believe that it is a piece of Absurd drama and because of its absurdity, the questions should never be answered. It’s best to leave the play open to interpretation as a whole and understand that the play at its simplest terms is a story of an aging mind." Full Review
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