with Joe Bannister, Amelda Brown, Jerry Killick, Lilit Lesser, Brian Lipson, Eryn Jean Norvill, Pamela Rabe, Gabrielle Scawthorn, Yasser Zadeh

In his previous shows — Love, Faith, Hope and Charity, as well as A Death in the Family, all programmed at the Ateliers Berthier — Alexander Zeldin told the story of our world by weaving together fragments of individual destinies. In The Confessions, he chose to depict an entire life, from birth to death. His play is drawn from the story of his mother: her origins in Australia in 1943, her childhood in a modest background, her quest for education, her new start in life as a divorced woman in exile in London, and the creation of a family. Alice’s journey goes through the great social changes of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of 21st century. Her love life is the common thread of a story of both personal and collective emancipation. With brief, concrete scenes, through moments lifted from an almost eight-decade-long timespan, the actors sensitively evoke the story of her life.

Cast

set design, costumes Marg Horwell
movement, choreography Imogen Knight
lighting Paule Constable
musical composition Yannis Philippakis
sound Josh Anio Grigg
casting director Jacob Sparrow
assistant director Joanna Pidcock
dramaturgical support Sasha Milavic Davies
voice work Cathleen McCarron

production Compagnie A Zeldin / A Zeldin Company

commissioned by the National Theatre of Great Britain, RISING Melbourne, Théâtres de la ville de Luxembourg 

coproduction Wiener Festwochen, Comédie de Genève, Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, Centre culturel de Belém - Lisbonne, Théâtre de Liège, Festival d'Avignon, Festival d'Automne à Paris, Festival d'Athènes-Épidaure, Piccolo Teatro di Milano - Teatro d'Europa, Festival d'Adélaïde-Australie, Centre dramatique national de Normandie-Rouen

the company A Zeldin is supported by the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles Île-de-France

production patrons Nancy and Michael Timmers, Cas Donald, David Schwimmer, Elisabeth de Kergorlay, Mazdak Rassi and Zanna Roberts Rassi, Andrew and Raquel Segal, Victoria Reese and Greg Kennedy, Studio Indigo Architects & Interior Designers

in co-production with the Festival d'Automne à Paris

creation in June 2023

Biography of Alexander Zeldin

Alexander Zeldin, born in 1985, is an internationally acclaimed British author and director. His theatrical career began with workshops and performances in a wide range of countries - Egypt, South Korea, Russia, Georgia, Italy - with people from all walks of life. He is also an assistant to Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne. In 2014, he made a name for himself in the UK with Beyond Caring, presented at the National Theatre in London in 2015, and recreated in German at the Schaubühne in 2022, which tells the story of night workers in an industrial butchery. This show is the first of a trilogy, 'The Inequalities', of which the next two plays, Love and Faith, Hope and Charity were presented at the Ateliers Berthier in 2018 and 2021. In January 2022, he also created Une mort dans la famille, his first show in French, which will be revived in the 2022-23 season.