Marlène Saldana & Jonathan Drillet Les chats (ou ceux qui frappent et ceux qui sont frappés)

Breaking away from the rigid structures of the stage, Marlène Saldana and Jonathan Drillet are notorious rogues. They’ll embrace everything, from theater and dance to music and performance art. Marlène Saldana has worked with the likes of Christophe Honoré, Boris Charmatz and Sophie Pérez, Jonathan Drillet crossed paths with Phia Ménard, Hubert Colas and Jonathan Capdevielle. Together they form an inseparable, beautiful and unhinged duo whose talent Chaillot audiences admired with their piece Showgirl. Les Chats (ou ceux qui frappent ceux qui sont frappés) wavers between the animal fable and the updated musical. The duo envisions a society of cats in the 1980s, living off the grid… away from humans. But who is who? Each performer on stage plays multiple parts to recount a decaying world, a kind of “joyful” apocalypse for modern times. With a Japanese influence, this kaleidoscopic piece harnesses musical and dramaturgical elements from Cats, A Chorus Line and Les Misérables, heavy hitters of 70s musicals. With a cast featuring Alina Arshi, Mai Ishiwata, Christophe Ives, Dalila Khatir, Aurélien Labenne, Mark Lorimer, Guillaume Marie, Stephen Thompson, Charles Tuyizere, set design by Theo Mercier, costumes by Jean Biche and music by Laurent Durupt, Les Chats is bound to make its mark on the season.  

Philippe Noisette