THE HAMMER AND THE SICKLE
Don DeLillo / Julien Gosselin / Cie Si vous pouviez lécher mon coeur
After Houellebecq and Bolaño, the director Julien Gosselin continues his scenic exploration of the literature of today and violence in our societies. Based on a short story by the American writer Don DeLillo, this latest production presents the dystopian world of high finance.
Julien Gosselin returns to confronting contemporary literature through his exploration of Don DeLillo’s short story Hammer and Sickle. Jerold Bradway is a trader locked up in prison for financial criminal offenses. Along with his cell-mates, he is forced to watch a children’s television program written by his ex-wife and presented by his two daughters, which talks about constant financial crises. French director Julien Gosselin brings the story to life through a powerful monologue that reflects on the contemporary void and our relationship with money.
In 2013, the impact of Particules élémentaires brought Si vous pouviez lécher mon cœur, a young collective lead by Julien Gosselin, into the spotlight. In 2016, with 2666, an adaptation of Roberto Bolaño’s monumental novel, the director confirmed his taste for torrent-like shows, non theater-based texts and all-embracing, immersive formats in which music, video and lighting engage spectators in a dazzling aesthetic experience. These productions also saw him digging deeper into themes which have become an integral part of his work — literature, violence, and the ways in which human beings become victims of the underground movements that history and society at large produce.
These same themes come to mind in the novels by American writer Don DeLillo. Julien Gosselin recently adapted Players (1977), Names (1982) and Mao II (1991) that draw upon the inextricable links between individual destiny and collective history. Here he adapts the short story Hammer and the Sickle published in 2010, in which DeLillo satirizes the world of high finance.
Estimated running time: 1 hour / In French with English subtitles
TICKETS
Tickets for all performances are free; donations accepted. Ticket reservations are required; Reserve through University Ticketing online, in person at the Frist Campus Center Ticket Office, or by calling 609-258-9220.
