In this autofiction, an individual fate becomes a universal fable: in an introspective and emotional journey, author and performer Valentine Cohen takes elements from her personal story as the basis for an exploration of the ‘condition humaine’, the human condition. In an attempt to leave behind the chaos of the world – full of illusions, drugs, abuse, schizophrenic flirtations, greed, exclusion, fatality, contempt for humanity, alienation and subjugation – she ventures into the depths and abysses of the self. Conditioned by laws and (family) power structures that affect her against her will, she wants to break boundaries… Between ordinary woman and mythological figure, the protagonist celebrates life in all its exposure, in individual and collective rebirth at the same time. She is ready to change herself and thus contribute to changing the world.
TEXT/PERFORMANCE Valentine Cohen | DIRECTOR Mercedes Sanz | VIDEO Erwin Chamard | PRODUCTION Mata-Malam | SUPPORTED by Conseil départemental de Gironde / Théâtre Le vent se lève (Paris)/ Théâtre Le Plateau Jean Vilar Eysines/ Association L’essentiel
As an actress, author and director, Valentine Cohen stages international projects with her ensemble Mata-Malam. Her teachers were Blanche Salant, Peter Brook and Jerzy Grotowski. Today she teaches in various professional workshops and drama schools. Et nous devînmes infranchissables! is a centerpiece of the EU-funded art project L’Art-Matrice , which she directs and which developed out of the political necessity of bringing poetry to the public. L’Art-Matrice itself is a project for researching and disseminating emancipatory artistic tools. africologne is an EU partner in Germany.
Valentine Cohen’s most recent productions include: Immaculée, femme nue devant la porte du néant (Engl: Immaculate, naked woman at the door of nothingness) after A.M. Celli and L.A. Baker(On rape as a weapon of war) and Pain béni by Ornella Mamba. Her texts are published by Éditions Non-Verbal. She also directs the Induction festival in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.