Post-transparence: A Theatrical Exploration of Intimacy (2021)

Project Overview

When the pandemic struck, life came to a sudden and violent halt. For the first time, a couple found itself confronted with its own reality. Within a dynamic oscillating between love and hostility, two characters begin to confuse their relational difficulties with their personal struggles. Where does the boundary between self and other truly end?

Human interactions transform us, for better and for worse. In a world that increasingly escapes our control, where we remain constantly connected to others, what does it mean to be ourselves?

In the twenty-first century, transparency, authenticity, and honesty have become dominant imperatives. Yet everything related to pain and trauma — elements that nonetheless shape individual identity — is rejected and concealed in order to maintain the illusion of permanent happiness. To what extent are individuals still entitled to their own interiority, discomforts, fractures, vulnerabilities, and sadness?

Over the course of a single night, He and She pause in order to confront these taboos and sincerely question the place of individual transparency. He devotes himself to familial well-being, while She is committed to humanitarian work — two distinct causes that are both hyper-mediated and hyper-efficient within a society obsessed with performance. These two visions of an “ethical” way of life collide and converge simultaneously. The two characters are you, him, her, them, oneself, and ourselves.

Through a broader interrogation of individual identity, He and She test the contemporary obligation of transparency within social relationships increasingly constrained by intrusive technologies and by demands for efficiency in every sphere of daily life. Within a dialogue shaped by deeply human realities, the two characters both confront and embrace one another. Gradually, they uncover their own humanity beyond the hypocrisies of social performance, and are ultimately compelled to accept it.

This collaboratively written theatrical work invites audiences into a confrontation with themselves. It proposes a vision of interpersonal relationships in which there are neither heroes nor villains, only sincerely human beings. Drawing inspiration from the writings of Byung-Chul Han, the play embodies and interrogates his reflections while confronting them with the complexities of social and individual life. Within the “society of transparency,” what does it mean to remain ethically and emotionally authentic — both with others and with oneself?

My role in the creation and interpretation

As co-author and performer, I participated in every stage of the piece’s creation:

• Writing the text in collaboration with Maxime Savoie, exploring the tensions between language, image, and the materiality of the body.
• Directing the staging, conceived as an alternation between exposure and erasure, light and darkness.
• Performing, aiming to physically and emotionally convey the concepts addressed.

This experience was an opportunity to merge my theoretical approach with my artistic practice, by experimenting with a hybrid form between theatre, performance, and philosophical reflection.

Concept

Post-Transparency is a two-character theatrical work co-written and performed by Maxime Savoie and Jessica Ragazzini. Lasting approximately one hour, the play seeks to encourage reflection on what it means to cultivate an ethical and authentic way of life — first with oneself, and subsequently with others.

Through the portrayal of two characters overwhelmed by the accelerated rhythms of contemporary existence, the hypocrisies of everyday life, and the pressures of a constantly shifting society, the performance aims to break silences and reveal that sincerity is fundamentally a process of introspection. Before attempting to connect with others, one must first confront oneself. This requires acknowledging the profoundly human condition: a coexistence of beauty and ugliness, strength and fragility.