Marius

In Marseille, however, everything is holding him back: his father César, who has brought him up alone and loves a job well done, and perhaps also his girlfriend Fanny, who is as beautiful as they come.

Marcel Pagnol’s work, which is almost a hundred years old, smells of southern sunshine and Provençal herbs, with a singing accent to boot. In Joël Pommerat’s version, the original lightness and candour give way to a cruder truth, inspired in particular by the creative theatre work the director has been doing for the last ten years in a French prison.

Although he has kept the southern context, Pommerat – whose Contes et légendes stunned audiences at the Comédie in 2023 – wanted Marius to resonate with today’s world, with its muted violence too. His credo: “Take complete liberty with the original work while remaining faithful to it. Adapt, rewrite, but stay faithful”. This quest for freedom is at the very heart of the play.