Measure for Measure

An unclassifiable play by Shakespeare, haunted by the question of injustice, divine as well as earthly, Measure for Measure oscillates between tragedy, political fable, suspenseful psychological tale and cruel comedy.

Faithful to Elizabethan theatre, the plot rich in twists and turns also echoes our society and its debates on abusive political power, religious extremism and patriarchy. In an imaginary Vienna, where a certain freedom of morals reigned, the Duke momentarily ceded the regency of the State to the very puritanical Angelo. Religious repression then descended on the city. When the young Claudio is sentenced to death for having made his fiancée pregnant, his sister Isabella, a novice in a convent, goes to ask for her pardon from the Regent who, seduced by the young girl, offers him a deal: her brother's life in exchange for his virginity. Forced to leave the convent, Isabella finds herself trapped in this world of men that she had fled. Unless a ruse to save his honor is possible?

Lucie Lacaze signs here an incisive and rhythmic reading of the work, faithful to her ambition of a demanding and popular theatre. In a tightened version, and a stage writing that is both light and playful, its staging is based on four virtuoso performers, with generous acting, who give substance to a dozen characters, all tested by a plot where sexual blackmail and hypocrisy of power are mixed. The changes of roles become a real choreography, which is accentuated as the play progresses and translates the infernal movement of the story, as well as its dramatic escalation. On the edge, the performers keep alive the permanent tension between the cruelty and the humor of the inextricable situations that trap them. A show of vibrant intelligence.

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