Les Jours de mon abandon
Elena Ferrante
Gaia Saitta
Italy, the late 1990s. Olga, a 40-year-old woman with two children, is a devoted mother and wife. She does her best to lead a life in perfect harmony with what society imposes on her. One day, her husband leaves her for a young woman. As in the most pathetic soap opera. Her whole world collapses. In the grip of a permanent feeling of danger, Olga sinks into a state of rage. She becomes vulgar, violent, grotesque.
After she has removed her make-up and given up appearances, an unexpected woman emerges. Scandalous and powerful. Almost mythical, she steps forward in all her tragedy: a contemporary Medea, who no longer needs to kill to exist.
In this adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s book, actress and director Gaia Saitta plays this woman, accompanied by her children and her dog. Trading her oppressed body for a resistant one, she lets herself go, finally liberated.
Everything has to be rebuilt, starting with language. The audience, scattered on and off the stage, is both part of and witness to this transformation.
Gaia Saitta is an associate artist at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Création Studio Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Calendar
Information
Language
fr, surtitling en, nl
Venue
Studio
Duration
1hr45
Price
€9 > €21
Cast
Concept, adaptation, director
Gaia Saitta
Artistic collaboration
Sarah Cuny
Mathieu Volpe
Jayson Batut
Text and dramaturgy
Gaia Saitta
Mathieu Volpe
Direction assistant
Sarah Cuny
With
Jayson Batut
Falvie Dachy / Mathilde Karam
Gaia Saitta
Vitesse (the dog)
Scenography
Paola Villani
Costume Design
Frédérick Denis
Music creation
Ezequiel Menalled
Light Design
Amélie Géhin
Stage manager
Giuliana Rienzi
Sound operator
Pawel Wnuczynski
Light operator
Corentin Christiaens
Video designer and production
Stefano Serra
Video assistant
Arthur Demaret
Stage management
Thomas Linthoudt
Set mechanisation
Chris Vanneste
Children's coach/repetitor
Lola Chuniaud
Dog coach
Casting Tails
Tim Van Brussel
Interns
Lou-Ann Bererd (set)
Tania Chirino (direction)
Paul Canfori (direction)
Set construction and costumes
Ateliers du Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
A show by
Gaia Saitta / If Human
Production
Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
Coproduction
Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa, CSS Teatro stabile di innovazione del FVG, TNC-Teatre Nacional de Catalunya Barcelone, Théâtre de Namur, Le Manège Maubeuge, La Coop asbl, Shelter Prod
With the support of
BAMP – Brussels Art Melting Pot asbl, Taxshelter.be, ING et du Taxshelter du gouvernement fédéral belge
Inspired by/Based on
I giorni dell’abbandono by Elena Ferrante
© 2002 by Edizioni E/O
