La réponse des Hommes

Tiphaine Raffier is part of a generation of fearless directors. For her fourth piece as a director, she tackles the works of mercy in the Gospel of St-Matthew, these acts of benevolence that every Christian must accomplish. Tiphaine Raffier eschews any proselytism but instead questions us about our choices and ethics in a world that seems bereft of them.

How to do what’s right, how to do good, why and for whom? All of Tiphaine Raffier’s works – La Chanson, Dans le nom, France-Fantôme or La Réponse des hommes – have consistently referenced great myths of sometimes Christian origin. While exploring The Decalogue by Krzysztof Kieslowski and concerned with the themes of giving and giving back, debt and sacrifice, she conceived a show divided into 9 chapters. Nine scenes that give expression to these biblical injunctions that audience members can travel through like in a museum. On stage Raffier supervises the numerous actors’ blocking and freeze actions. Their movements embody ancient gestures at odds with the reality of our contemporary world. By staging the works of mercy – welcoming strangers, giving drink to the thirsty, helping the sick, visiting the prisoners – Tiphaine Raffier appeals to the audience’s empathy while pointing out their limitations: are we willing to follow through on our commitments? What moral compass drives our actions? What falls into morality, and justice? This is this zone, this imperceptible place where action and reflection meet, that Tiphaine Raffier’s work inhabits.