SCENES FROM A MARIAGE

Ingmar Bergman
Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett äktenskap) traces the evolution of the marriage between Johan, a university professor, and Marianne, a solicitor specialising in family law, over a period of ten years. Through a series of encounters marking the turning points and breakdown of their relationship, a portrait emerges of a couple whose situation seems inextricable — gradually unable to be together, but equally unable to separate. This new adaptation by Markus Öhrn is an opportunity to reinterpret Bergman’s fable in the light of the domestic violence—both physical and psychological—that arises in secret within many couples. To do this, the director transposes Bergman’s film into a grotesque universe, rejecting any form of realism. Amidst the stripped walls of a ‘white box’, decked out in grotesque masks, Johan and Marianne become the avatars of a cruel and ridiculous game, evoking both the tradition of Grand Guignol and the saturated violence of certain cartoons. This uninhibited violence, deliberately excessive and caricatural, is held up to the audience like a distorting mirror — a probable reflection of our own repressed impulses, or simply those hidden behind social masquerades.
Théâtre de l'Odéon
Avec Hélène Morelli, Mathieu Perotto