SOIF
ONDES TITRE PROVISOIRE
play with spoken dialogue, singing and dance
“You couldn’t find the words to describe what you saw, could you?”
When there is no more water but we can still see; where the traces of trees and towns begin to fade; in the face of emptiness and darkness, just as dreams are born, a theatrical experiment begins, filled with forms of expression that invite us to remain attentive, to listen, with our ears pricked, so that a dimension of sensory access may open up to the unique knowledge contained within our own images.
The phenomenon of discovery is fully realised when it is revealed, that is to say, when it can be represented.
SOIF is an invitation to play and to interpret.
Taking our cue from the name given by the French press to the scientific controversy that engulfed INSERM Unit 200 – then headed by Dr Jacques Benveniste – at the turn of the 1990s, we wish to play with the concept of ‘Memory of Water’.
We play with the elements that underpin a human experience at a time of crisis and – perhaps – of transition in our understanding of the world.
We play with the foundations of Western knowledge by exploring the phenomenon of discovery.
We play with several languages: that of scientific rationality, that of the mythological unconscious, and that of dreams and belief.
We also play with the origins of Western theatre: inspired by the structure of Ancient tragedy, this piece unfolds, like a spiral, through the alternation of recurring elements – choruses, episodes, visions.
The stage is conceived as a place of passage, deserted or incomplete, a laboratory equipped with the tools needed to conduct experiments and develop knowledge. To traverse a space where presences, perceptions and realities overlap in an attempt to discern what lies hidden in the gaps—this is the direction our work is taking. To navigate complexity and arrive at simplicity is our aim. In some respects, simplicity can be disconcerting.
Water is a mystery.
CAST
Written and Directed by
Jules Benveniste
With
Bruno Abraham-Kremer, Eva Blanchard, Livia Vincenti
and the voice of
Rainer Sievert
Choreography
Livia Vincenti
Choreography of the choruses
Jules Benveniste
Light Design
Michel Abdallah
Sound Design
Étienne Martinez
Set design and Costumes
Andréa Warzee
Production
Steven Cayrasso
Administration
Caroline Otupal
Featuring
Mathilde Domarle, Violetta Latte, Rainer Sievert
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Frédérique Rémy
Bernard Sudan
Jacques Verron
Duration : 80 minutes
Public : ages 13 and over
‘It is dark. The path is too long to turn back, and I can hear voices all around me. It is dark. Knowledge has dried up in the absence of attention to the smallest things that lie hidden just behind what we think we have learnt to see, without ever having really looked at them. Three beasts face me. I cannot see them, I sense them. My ears observe, becoming my eyes. It is dark.’
PRODUCTION Bougier TOTO
CO-PRODUCTION HEXAGONE – Scène Nationale de Meylan ; L’Odysée/L’Autre Rive – Eybens ; Direction Culturelle - Université de Lille
SUPPORTED BY Centquatre – Paris, Leurre//Labo – Granville, TNP – CDN Villeurbanne, Théâtre Jean Marais – Saint-Fons
RESEARCH PROCESS Nouveau Grand Tour 22 - Institut Français Italie, autumn 22, 30 days (individual) ; Le Rebours Résidences Artistiques, June 23, 5 days (collective)
WRITING PROCESS La Chartreuse - CNES, La Mama Umbria International – as part of ACHENES - Culture Moves Europe project. The writing phase benefited from the support of a dedicated scientific committee and GAES (Groupe Artistique Expérimentation Scientifique) #3, set up by HEXAGONE – Scène Nationale de Meylan and the Quai des Savoirs in Toulouse.
SOIF has been nominated for the 2024 Prix Incandescences – Models Section, Théâtre des Célestins and TNP, in June 2024.
credits : Andréa Warzee / rehearsal photos at L’Autre Rive (Eybens), october 2026