The Théâtre du Soleil in Nafplio
On Friday 23 May 2025 at 8 pm, FOUGARO ARTCENTER welcomes the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Peloponnese for a special evening dedicated to Ariane Mnouchkine's legendary Théâtre du Soleil. Two top actors of this emblematic theatre company, Duccio Bellugi-Vannuccini and Maurice Durozier, will be with us to share their collective artistic vision and their invaluable experience of many years.
The event includes a screening of the documentary Au Bord De La Guerre: Ariane Mnouchkine et le Théâtre du Soleil à Kyiv (2024). The film will serve as an apt introduction to Here Dwell the Dragons (director: Ariane Mnouchkine), the play to be staged in Athens from May 30 to June 5, 2025 in the context of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival.
The film, by Duccio Bellugi-Vannuccini and Thomas Briat, documents the unforgettable experience of Ariane Mnouchkine and members of the Théâtre du Soleil during their stay in Kyiv, from March 23 to April 5, 2023; they were there to organise a creative workshop that involved 100 artists and students from various Ukrainian cities.
The film presents this unique human and artistic encounter and links together the values of solidarity, gratitude, love and hope.
The French-language film will be screened with English subtitles.
Duration: 59 min.
Discussion with Duccio and Maurice
The screening will be followed by a discussion with the two historic members of the Théâtre du Soleil, Duccio Bellugi-Vannuccini, the film's director, and Maurice Durozier. This is a rare opportunity to meet two great artists and get to know the universal artistic and humanistic legacy of the Théâtre du Soleil.
The discussion will be held in French, with Greek interpreting.
Event scientific organiser & discussion coordinator:
Elena Papalexiou, deputy professor, Department of Theatre Studies, University of Peloponnese
admission to the event is free of charge.
Duccio Bellugi–Vannuccini
Duccio Bellugi–Vannuccini is an actor, director and documentary filmmaker of Italian and French roods. He studied kinesiology under Jacques Lecoq, Étienne Decroux and Pina Bausch, and is a graduate of the Marcel Marceau International School. In 1987 he joined the Théâtre du Soleil theatre company, with Ariane Mnouchkine as director, and has since participated in all of the troupe's stage and film productions. He has also collaborated with directors such as Irina Brook, Robert Lepage and Richard Nelson. In the cinema he has appeared in films with Isabelle Huppert (dir. Tonino De Bernardi), Virginie Efira (dir. Justine Triet) and Mathieu Amalric (dir, Larrieu brothers). As a joint creator he has signed the documentaries Un Soleil à Kaboul and Au Bord de la Guerre as well as several short films. In 2018 he earned a postgraduate degree in Theatrical Studies from Paris 8; the subject of his thesis was The transformative aspect of Community Theatre and Social Theatre. Today he co-directs the A.R.T.A. School in Cartoucherie, Paris) and is a visiting professor at the universities of Paris 8 and Sorbonne Nouvelle.
Maurice Durozier
Coming from a family of travelling actors, Maurice Durozier got involved with the theatre in the 1970s in Perpignan's Bas Vernet district, where he formed his own troupe, "Teatret del Vernet". In 1980 he joined the Théâtre du Soleil, where he discovered the art of improvisation and was initiated in the various theatrical codes and genres that inspire the troupe. As an actor he participated in the productions of Shakespeare cycle: Richard II, Twelfth Night, Henry IV; L’histoire terrible mais inachevée de Norodom Sihanouk, roi du Cambodge; and Les Atrides. In 1992 he set up his own troupe, "Les Voyageurs de la Nuit", for which he wrote, directed and performed in plays such as Kalo (Villa Médicis Hors-les-Murs Award, 1993), Brûleur de Planches (Beaumarchais playwriting scholarship, 1998), Désirs de Mer (1999). He wrote lyrics and music for the LPs Rêve Mouvant and C’est Fou Comme le Temps Passe, recorded in Rio de Janeiro in 2019. In 2002 he returned to the Théâtre du Soleil and has since been involved in all of its productions under the directing guidance of Ariane Mnouchkine, including: Le Dernier Caravansérail, Les Éphémères, Les Naufragés du fol espoir, Macbeth, Une chambre en Inde, Kanata (dir. Robert Lepage), L’Île d’or and Here Dwell the Dragons.
