Une mort dans la famille

Alexander Zeldin, a young English writer and director who is associated with L’Odéon – Théâtre de l’Europe and the National Theatre in London, writes his first play in French and it is a resounding success, as complete as it is poignant. Alongside his troupe of professional and amateur actors, the British native tackles what society hides away from view with tenderness and a startling sense of humour: old age, daily life in nursing homes and the loss of a loved one. Alice lives with her two teenage children, Alex and Oliv’, who are preparing to commemorate the death of their father, who died one year prior. Marguerite, the grandmother played by Marie Christine Barrault, also lives in the home. The grandmother, who is not fully self-sufficient, must live out the rest of her days in an EPHAD (a residential home for dependant elderly people). The play, which unfolds over three acts and combines social hyper-realism and classical tragedy, is masterfully intimate and brings to mind the ignominy of recent events. Nothing is neglected here, but it is not heavy either because this ‘social theatre’ helps us to alleviate our deepest fears together.