Production: Atelier de création sonore radiophonique (acsr)
Authors: Cabiria Chomel, Iris Estivals, Margaux Auroux and Gabriel Planat. English adaptation text by Anna Muchin
Producers: Le Bruit et la fureur with the support of Atelier de creation sonore radiphonique (acsr) & Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles from Paris
Directors: Cabiria Chomel, Iris Estivals, Margaux Auroux and Gabriel Planat
Sound engineers: Recording and editing: Cabiria Chomel Iris Estivals; Sound design and mixing: Bastien Hidalgo Ruiz
Other key staffWriting assistance: Claire Richard
English adaptation: Anna Muchin
Synopsis:
Between the unease of bodies and chance words, two characters gradually connect whilst waiting for something only they know the reason for.
Questions arise, clues appear, we think things are happening and we still wonder what we're doing here, what remains for us?
"The dialogue between the two characters is punctuated by silences, which makes room for the sonic atmosphere in which the fiction unfolds. The composition is quite minimalist; we notice its presence mainly through its variations. This means that each sound event takes on a whole other
dimension, benefits from a different resonance. It was important for us to go against the grain of dense writing and take the risk of tenuousness on radio. The silences therefore structure the dialogue, the space-time, and allow us to sustain the tension that plays out between the characters as well as create a form of suspense in the narrative. They are inhabited by the awkwardness of a first meeting, by this waiting that stretches out and distends. The silences also tell us something in contrast with the societal climate that we gradually sense as the piece unfolds. A permission to be together without necessarily oversharing. For us there was the challenge of conveying what can happen in an interaction beyond words, and this without the support of image.
“The recordings took place at night in the countryside, as close as possible to the situation in the fiction. The surrounding soundscape influenced the performance and atmosphere particular to the piece. The intriguing universe arose from the desire to anchor the meeting between these two characters in a murky and relatively dystopian context. At the heart of this fiction, there were two desires that seemed able to coexist. We wanted to explore the encounter between two characters in a car - an intimate space sheltered from view - and let their fragilities unfold. At the same time, we were deeply concerned by current events: the rise of the far right everywhere, repression, censorship. We needed to offer ourselves an underground and alternative space, like a breath in this particularly anxiety-inducing context.”
