RETOUR DE LA PRÉFECTURE

Retour de la préfecture, a story of love and resistance, a dramatic poem incarnate. Jessica Biermann Grunstein is an author whose work is protean: literary and pictorial poetry, children?s stories... She has led a nomadic life, alternating between working in the fields and teaching. With Retour de la préfecture (Return from the Prefecture), she has written a gripping account of administrative violence, in which politics intrudes into the intimate. The power of the text lies in the fact that it draws on an ordeal that she herself went through. It follows a woman and a man in love, as they face the reception they receive at the prefecture when they have to make an appointment to apply for a residence permit following their marriage. "Have you entered the country legally? Don't worry, I'm here to advise you, we'll find the best solution ? don't lie to me, it's useless ? I can't find any trace of your file"... Incomprehension, harsh words that discriminate... This dramatic poem reveals the brutality of institutions that fragment souls and batter bodies. Sophie Lagier is an actress and director. In 2003, she founded the ACETONE company, with whom she defends an engaged theater. Her shows explore the flaws and contradictions of our world. When she came across the text Retour de la préfecture, she was captivated by its singular form and writing style: powerful language, relentless rhythm, musicality of the verb. Carried by the magnetic new duo of Charlotte Daquet and Yanis Skouta in a pared-down staging where bodies are on display, Retour de la préfecture is an essential story.