Molly Bloom
© Stephan Vanfleteren

Creation and adaptation Viviane De Muynck & Jan Lauwers
Text based on 'Penelope' from Ulysses by James Joyce
Dramaturgy Elke Janssens
Dramaturgical assistance and coordination Melissa Thomas
Costumes Lot Lemm
Lighting design Ken Hioco, Jan Lauwers
Technical director Ken Hioco
Production management Marjolein Demey
Technician Tijs Michiels, Saul Mombaerts

Production Needcompany
Coproduction La Filature (Mulhouse)
Copresentation Festival Temporada Alta (Girona), Festival de Otoño (Madrid), La Rose des Vents (Villeneuve d'Ascq), La Passerelle (Saint-Brieuc), Espaces Pluriels (Pau)
With the support of the Flemish authorities.

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FRENCH VERSION

Text based on the french translation by Tiphaine Samoyault © Editions Gallimard for the translation
French language coach Anny Czupper

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ENGLISH VERSION

With thanks to Misha Downey

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SPANISH VERSION

With Gaby Hernández

 

In 1999, Viviane De Muynck and Jan Lauwers set to work with the last chapter of James Joyce’s Ulysses for the first time. Joyce’s grandson, Stephen J. Joyce, explicitly forbade them the use of the material with a number of offensive letters. Despite this ban, a few clandestine readings took place in Germany, which were positively received by the press.

21 years later - now the copyright on Joyce’s work has expired - De Muynck, the 74-year-old grande dame of the European theatre, puts herself back in the shoes of Molly Bloom, the unfaithful wife of Leopold Bloom, and approaches the text with new questions.

While writing this radical monologue one hundred years ago Joyce must have thought that ‘behind every famous man there’s a woman watching in astonishment’. Today, the aftermath of #metoo movement shows the burning necessity to create a space to talk openly about emancipation, equality and sexual freedom of women. That perspective sets a landscape for a new embodiment of Molly Bloom’s statement.

To quote Viviane de Muynck: ‘It is a universal text about the impossibility of getting to know each other totally and accept the difference’. De Muynck herself says this is her best part ever.

 

'De Muynck shows us a woman, a real person. Not a character in a plot, not a storyline of a plot but a feeling. Something that, from now on, we will never again remain indifferent to. Molly Bloom is the look, the feel and the voice of the woman who has taken her place and who will let nothing silence her.'
- Ovejas Muertes

'Molly Bloom is 34 in the novel and De Muynck is 74. It doesn’t matter. With the acting force and irony of the actress, the world of the character becomes present with her memories, her frustrations, and her desires. Everything appears emaciated - with a frank language linked to the organic impulses - until, in such a Joycean way, suddenly the emotion appears.'
- El Punt Avui

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Creation and adaptation Viviane De Muynck & Jan Lauwers
Text based on 'Penelope' from Ulysses by James Joyce
Dramaturgy Elke Janssens
Dramaturgical assistance and coordination Melissa Thomas
Costumes Lot Lemm
Lighting design Ken Hioco, Jan Lauwers
Technical director Ken Hioco
Production management Marjolein Demey
Technician Tijs Michiels, Saul Mombaerts

Production Needcompany
Coproduction La Filature (Mulhouse)
Copresentation Festival Temporada Alta (Girona), Festival de Otoño (Madrid), La Rose des Vents (Villeneuve d'Ascq), La Passerelle (Saint-Brieuc), Espaces Pluriels (Pau)
With the support of the Flemish authorities.

--------------------

FRENCH VERSION

Text based on the french translation by Tiphaine Samoyault © Editions Gallimard for the translation
French language coach Anny Czupper

--------------------

ENGLISH VERSION

With thanks to Misha Downey

--------------------

SPANISH VERSION

With Gaby Hernández

 

Tour dates

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November 2020
04 NovMulhouse FRLa Filature Postponed
05 NovMulhouse FRLa Filature Postponed
06 NovMulhouse FRLa Filature Postponed
17 NovMadrid ESFestival de Otoño Premiere
18 NovMadrid ESFestival de Otoño
21 NovSalt ESFestival Temporada Alta de Girona Postponed
22 NovSalt ESFestival Temporada Alta de Girona Postponed
23 NovSalt ESFestival Temporada Alta de Girona Postponed
December 2020
11 DecSalt ESFestival Temporada Alta de Girona
12 DecSalt ESFestival Temporada Alta de Girona
January 2021
14 JanVilleneuve d'Ascq FRLa Rose des Vents Postponed
21 JanSaint-Brieuc FRLa Passerelle Postponed
22 JanSaint-Brieuc FRLa Passerelle Postponed
25 JanPau FREspaces Pluriels Postponed
26 JanPau FREspaces Pluriels Postponed
February 2021
17 FebMulhouse FRLa Filature Postponed
18 FebMulhouse FRLa Filature Postponed
19 FebMulhouse FRLa Filature Postponed
March 2021
11 MarVilleneuve d'Ascq FRFestival DIRE Postponed
May 2021
30 MayHanover DEKunstfestspiele Herrenhausen Premiere
June 2021
09 JunSaint-Brieuc FRLa Passerelle
10 JunSaint-Brieuc FRLa Passerelle
July 2021
20 JulAlmada PTFestival de Almada
21 JulAlmada PTFestival de Almada
22 JulAlmada PTFestival de Almada
23 JulAlmada PTFestival de Almada
24 JulAlmada PTFestival de Almada
25 JulAlmada PTFestival de Almada
October 2021
02 OctMoscow RUNa Strastnom - Theatre Center of the Theatre Union of the Russian Federation
21 OctBobigny FRMC93 - Maison de la culture de Bobigny
22 OctBobigny FRMC93 - Maison de la culture de Bobigny
23 OctBobigny FRMC93 - Maison de la culture de Bobigny
24 OctBobigny FRMC93 - Maison de la culture de Bobigny
26 OctBobigny FRMC93 - Maison de la culture de Bobigny
27 OctBobigny FRMC93 - Maison de la culture de Bobigny
28 OctBobigny FRMC93 - Maison de la culture de Bobigny
November 2021
09 NovAix-en-Provence FRThéâtre Antoine Vitez
17 NovPau FREspaces Pluriels
18 NovPau FREspaces Pluriels
January 2022
04 JanSantiago de Chile CLFestival Internacional Santiago a Mil Premiere
05 JanSantiago de Chile CLFestival Internacional Santiago a Mil
06 JanSantiago de Chile CLFestival Internacional Santiago a Mil
11 JanVilleneuve d'Ascq FRFestival DIRE
April 2022
05 AprMulhouse FRLa Filature
06 AprMulhouse FRLa Filature
07 AprMulhouse FRLa Filature
May 2022
11 MayGhent BEKunstencentrum Vooruit Premiere
12 MayGhent BEKunstencentrum Vooruit
13 MayGhent BEKunstencentrum Vooruit
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