And I and Silence

By

Naomi Wallace

Direction

René Loyon

Performed by

Sarah Labrin, Morgane Real, Roxanne Roux, Juliette Speck

Traduction – Dominique Hollier

Considered one of the great living authors of American theatre, Naomi Wallace takes an uncompromising look at her country’s shortcomings. Her play And I and Silence forcefully and beautifully denounces the brutality of social conditioning.

“There is a singular tone in Naomi Wallace’s work,” explains René Loyon, “Her theatre contains a fundamental aspect of social criticism: it tirelessly focuses on the violence and blatant injustices of modern day America.”
The play the director is now bringing to the stage is no exception to this commitment. Through the chaotic destiny of two young women, Et moi et le silence denounces the cruelty of racism and class relations that plague the United States.
Jamie and Dee, one black and the other white, meet in prison in the 1950s.  They become friends and plan to build a simple life together once they are released. But although their dreams are modest, they are met with contempt based on class and segregation. At the crossroads between present and past, poetic realism and comedy, Naomi Wallace’s play immerses us in the lives of people who are determined to give meaning to their existence and to “be someone” in a world where everything condemns them to be nothing.