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subscribe to style file blog via RSSlou doillon on samuel beckett
September 19, 2008 3:10 pm
Lou Doillon’s Franco-Anglo lilt is admittedly the most bewitching we’ve ever heard, hence our absolute delight in listening to the actress/model/musician discuss a relatively obscure, nine-page Samuel Beckett short story comprising a single sentence. “In French ‘la langue’ means the language as much as the tongue, so already from the first word in the text Beckett is playing on the double sense,” Doillon explained of staging her interpretation at last night’s U.S. premiere of The Image at the French Institute. “It’s very much like a mathematical equation where you have to break it down. Every single fraction of a sentence can be twisted in at least ten different ways each time. Literally I discovered meanings until this afternoon.” Whew. After a month of preparation and five days of nonstop rehearsals, Doillon and Belgian dancer Damien Jalet debuted the Arthur Nauzyciel-helmed piece for a small audience, many of whom, like us, were no doubt transfixed by the pair’s facility with such complex material. But don’t expect Doillon to take it too easy anytime soon. After the performance’s three-night run, it’s back to Europe for more movie-making and (hopefully) a bit of fashion week. “I may come back for one day—maybe for Balenciaga because my son is in Paris going to school,” Doillon hypothesized. “Maybe I’ll see shows. Or…” she smiled, “maybe a party.”
tags: Lou Doillon, Samuel Beckett
