Theatre: The Nun

Suzanne Simonin, born of her mother's infidelity, is a bastard child whom no one knows what to do with. By sending her to a convent, her mother sees her prayers as redemption. The young girl will therefore be punished for a fault for which she is in no way responsible. The play tells the story of this confinement, including within oneself, and of this woman's struggle for her freedom and identity.

Anne Théron creates what she calls “objects” that combine theatre, physical performance, video and sound design. Her staging of La Religieuse is a magnificent illustration of this approach. Sober and powerful, it centres on the actress Marie-Laure Crochant, whose body, words and emotions become one. She literally lights up the stage and elevates this formidable indictment.

Suzanne demands only the freedom to choose a life that everyone has decided to steal from her. Her rhythmic narrative creates a tension that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats, while the lighting sculpts the space and sets the pace of the narration, also enhancing the inner metamorphosis of the young woman unfolding before us. It is theatre of flesh and spirit, where words become an act of resistance.

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