By Christophe Le Menn
Artistic team:
Artistic director – Thomas Cloarec
Writing and performance – Christophe Le Menn
Musical creation – Tom Leclerc and Christophe Le Menn
Set design – Nadège Renard
Sound engineer – Gwenole Peaudecerf
Stage manager – Gaidig Bleinhant
Lighting design – Stéphane Le Bel
Opening Night: November 28, 2024
Bastard: From medieval Latin bastardus, whose origin, like that of the person it designates, is obscure. According to the Trésor de la langue française, it could come from bast (Bât) “conceived or born on a pack-saddle”. The bât is a device for carrying heavy loads by animals such as the donkey, horse, camel or buffalo, used as beasts of burden.
In the course of collecting traditional stories and songs from the residents of a nursing home, Christophe Le Menn learns by telephone of the death of his paternal grandmother. He was born of unknown parentage and had never met the woman.
Christophe Le Menn takes us on a quest for our origins. From his own Breton culture, with its never-fulfilled quest for traditional songs, to the intimate yet universal quest for his parentage. It’s an artist’s journey and a quasi-initiatory quest for the man himself. From nocturnal wanderings at the EPHAD in Tréguier, Brittany, to those in a dayless snowstorm in the Arctic Circle, Christophe invites us into a tale of self-construction through the prism of that of others.
