César for Best Female Hope for her role as an angry young Algerian in “Papicha”, Lyna Khoudri now embodies a schizophrenic alone on stage in “Perdre son sac”, at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord.
How to approach the words and the thoughts which surge in this monologue?
The exercise is physical and very enjoyable. Pascal Rambert’s plays are not read, they are acted out. They make you want to get up from your seat and declaim what I call “verses”, so much does his prose have the power of alexandrines. I incarnate a schizophrenic heroine whose speech brings together many characters and subjects. I work on the rhythm. If I skip a syllable, I feel it. Words carry me. When we learn the text, we have the impression that it is our worst enemy. In fact, he is our best friend.
Precisely, how to learn this flow of sentences?
I don’t have a method. Sometimes I need a tutor, sometimes not. I went through many stages. I cried, I got angry, I even begged to stop. I had dreamed for years of working with Pascal. This dream comes true but I had not measured the difficulty.
You met this author while you were part of Iis Acte, a training of actors created in 2014 to open up the sets to diversity. What importance did this structure have?
She was decisive. The speakers, experienced directors, considered us at our fair value. We weren’t seen as people of diversity who came to beg for their share of the pie. We were in our place and we proved it. Of the thirteen students in my promotion, eleven were admitted to a national school. The artists gave us keys for the future.
Already subscribed? I connect