Exhibited from every angle during the three hours (with intermission) of a performance which masters its subject, theEducation nationale in person gives its title to the show by author-director François Hien, whose artistic residency at the Théâtre national populaire in Villeurbanne (Rhône) ended with this vast creation (currently on tour).
The artist documented his remarks seriously and methodically: two and a half years of research and preliminary meetings, an intensive collaboration with Sabine Collardey, professor of philosophy and playwright. The theatrical immersion offered at the Jean-Zay high school, located in a sensitive area in Virieux-en-Vézon (the places are invented) involves experience and fiction, a health check and a list of grievances, an explanation of text and advocacy.
Once the door of the establishment is pushed open (in this case, a rough stage occupied by chairs, tables, a few walls, this set being removable), no escape is allowed: a dizzying dive engulfs the audience in the daily life of a community so heterogeneous that human, professional, ethical and political conflicts are inevitable.
Multitude of stories
Teachers, students, principal, guidance counselor, educational assistants, school nurse, maintenance worker, academic inspector, trade unionists, parents of students, there are people on the set: ten actors, each playing several characters , to which is added, every evening, a different class of high school students from the Lyon metropolis who act as extras more than they really play roles.
François Hien makes the conscious choice of the duration, the multitude and the abundance of the stories covered. Like, ultimately, a high school day that starts early, ends late, well after the classes have been emptied, and brings together as many unique stories as there are passengers on board these citadels today. besieged.
Was there a need for theater to become aware of the discomfort, even the suffering, of national education? No. But the newspapers, due to lack of time or space, do not allow the patient, detailed and almost exhaustive presentation carried out by a representation concerned with analyzing the components of the school crisis. It is impossible to describe in detail the variety of scenarios handled by the director. François Hien interweaves the narrative threads, compressing months of investigation into a cluster of hours where each minute weighs its weight of testimonies and experiences.
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