Roman(s) national

After having questioned certain major events of the European history, the Birgit Ensemble now wants to take a closer look to what we have inherited from the 20th century. Roman(s) National is interested in the way in which the Republic has forged its identity through a singular narrative carrying in its wake numerous historical and political references.

For the first time, Jade Herbulot and Julie Bertin bring us to the fictional register: between a political fable, a narrative of anticipation and a fantastic tale. It tells the story of the last ten days of the presidential campaign of Horizon, the liberal-conservative party, whose headquarter is located in the former Museum of Man, now privatized. Personal interests are gradually blending with political issues, while the belief system of the candidate begins to waver when the anger of former colonized individuals resurfaces in the headquarter’s basement of the campaign. By summoning in our story some magic and invisible forces, our wish is to bring together two territories that seem to be incompatible in our contemporary imagination: the political space and the world of the invisible. But can a future President really believe in ghosts?

Created on February 3th, 2021 at la Filature – Scène Nationale de Mulhouse

Duration: 2h25 without intermission

Conception, text and direction Julie Bertin & Jade Herbulot – The Birgit Ensemble
Artistic collaboration Margaux Eskenazi

With Eléonore Arnaud, Pauline Deshons, Pierre Duprat, Anna Fournier, Antonin Fadinard, Lazare Herson-Macarel, Morgane Nairaud, Loïc Riewer, Marie Sambourg

Voice-overs Cuuké Gorodja, Cuuké Goromoto, Ouene Naaoutchoué and Tein Neaoutyine.

Scenography James Brandily assisté d’Auriane Lespagnol
Costumes Camille Aït-Allouache
Lights design Jérémie Papin assisté de Vincent Dupuy
Sound design Lucas Lelièvre
Video Pierre Nouvel
Video engineer Théo Lavirotte
General and stage engineer Marco Benigno
Administration, production Blandine Drouin and Colin Pitrat, Les Indépendances
Diffusion Florence Bourgeon

Production The Birgit Ensemble
Co-production Théâtre de Chatillon, Grand T – Théâtre de Loire Atlantique, Grand R – Scène Nationale of La Roche-sur-Yon, La Filature – Scène Nationale de Mulhouse.
Co-directed with the Théâtre de la Tempête.

With the support of the DRAC Ile-de-France, Ile-de-France Region, the ADAMI, the SACD Theatre Fund, the SPEDIDAM, the Maison de la nouvelle Calédonie, the Théâtre de la Bastille, and the Carreau du Temple.

With the artistic participation of the Jeune Théâtre National
With the collaboration of Réseau Canopé for the realization of a teaching file Pièce (dé)montée

The Birgit Ensemble is supported by the Departmental Council of Val-de-Marne, and by the city of Paris as part of the support for artistic and cultural residency.