Alexander Zeldin’s The Other Place, After Antigone at the Théâtre de la Ville-Sarah Bernhardt, Aurélia Lüscher and Estelle Meyer’s staging of Je meurs de ne pas mourir at the Théâtre de la Bastille, and François Grémaud’s Mon frère at the Théâtre du Rond-Point form a powerful trio of theatrical works currently interrogating politics, family mythology, and communication on French and European stages.
The Bottom Line:
- Myth Retold: Alexander Zeldin relocates the eternal conflict of Antigone to a modern suburban family wrestling with an urn of ashes.
- Censorship and Resistance: Paco Bezerra’s play on Saint Teresa of Avila finds new life in France following its cancellation in Madrid.
- A Stage Shared: François Grémaud’s Mon frère gives full theatrical voice to his deaf brother, Christian, weaving personal history with sign language.
The Modern Family Urn in Alexander Zeldin’s Antigone
Created at the National Theatre in London, British writer and director Alexander Zeldin’s production The Other Place, After Antigone is currently running at the Théâtre de la Ville-Sarah Bernhardt as part of the Festival d’automne. The narrative centers on two sisters, Annie and Issy, who gather on the anniversary of their father’s death by suicide. Between them sits the urn containing his remains.
Beneath this domestic setup lies a direct echo of the myth of Antigone, daughter of Oedipus, who decided to bury her brother against the wishes of her uncle Creon, king of Thebes. Here, the uncle is named Chris. Wearing sneakers, Chris advocates for dispersing the ashes to “move forward” now that time has passed and the family home has been remodeled with a sprawling glass window overlooking the garden. Annie, returned after months away and years of silence, rejects this. Following its Paris run, the production is scheduled to travel to Luxembourg and Geneva.
Resurrecting Teresa of Avila Against Political Pressure
Staged at the Théâtre de la Bastille in Paris, Je meurs de ne pas mourir (Les deux vies de Thérèse) is a one-woman show performed by Estelle Meyer and directed by Aurélia Lüscher. The text, written by Spanish dramaturg Paco Bezerra, draws from the writings of Teresa of Avila, the 16th-century Spanish patron saint and first female Doctor of the Church. In Bezerra’s premise, Teresa is resurrected ahead of schedule, recovers her dispersed relics, and wanders the margins of contemporary Spanish society.
The play was originally slated for a major Madrid theater before being dropped, officially for budgetary reasons, though likely also under pressure from the far right over its vision of the saint. A solidarity movement quickly followed, with cultural figures including Javier Bardem and Pedro Almodóvar signing an open letter of support. While the production has yet to be programmed in Spain, French audiences can experience it via Clarice Plasteig’s translation published by Les Solitaires intempestifs. Following its Paris run, the show heads to Marseille in November, and to Châtillon, Orléans, and Saran in March 2027.
Mon frère: A Dialogue in Sign Language and Silence
On a stripped-back stage devoid of elaborate sets, two men in their early fifties mirror each other’s appearance and wardrobe in Mon frère. One speaks; the other does not. One is director François Grémaud, while the other—Christian—is not a trained actor but the deaf-from-birth brother for whom and in part by whom the piece was written.
The performance intertwines three distinct strands: Christian’s life experiences, the nature of sign language, and a metatheatrical look at the creation of the show itself. Following its summer run at the Festival d’Avignon, the production is currently installed at the Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris. From there, it embarks on an extensive tour taking the brothers to Marseille, Neuchâtel, Besançon, Brest, Fribourg, Toulouse, Saint-Ouen, Malakoff, Bordeaux, Dunkerque, and Geneva.
| Production | Director / Writer | Current Venue | Upcoming Tour Stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Other Place, After Antigone | Alexander Zeldin | Théâtre de la Ville-Sarah Bernhardt | Luxembourg, Geneva |
| Je meurs de ne pas mourir | Aurélia Lüscher / Paco Bezerra | Théâtre de la Bastille | Marseille, Châtillon, Orléans, Saran |
| Mon frère | François Grémaud | Théâtre du Rond-Point | Marseille, Neuchâtel, Besançon, Brest, Fribourg, Toulouse, Saint-Ouen, Malakoff, Bordeaux, Dunkerque, Geneva |
These three distinct works demonstrate how contemporary theater continues to use classical myths, suppressed histories, and deeply personal family dynamics to challenge political and social norms. As these productions tour across France and beyond, they invite audiences to reconsider how communities bury their dead, honor their outcasts, and listen across physical divides.
