The Last Night of the World

Interview with Fabrice Murgia

What was the starting point for this project?

I worked with Laurent Gaudé in 2014 at the Limoges Opéra. The production we did together was an opera called Daral Shaga. Laurent wrote the libretto. I took care of the staging in collaboration with Cie Feria Musica. It was a true meeting of minds, as we very soon complemented each other in our narratives. We promised to repeat the experience, to re-explore a form that would not strictly speaking be situationist theatre, but something that juxtaposed two types of writing: a romantic and literary style, penned by Laurent, and mine, a way of writing with images for the stage. 

It’s been six years since Daral Shaga. We stayed in touch. Then one day, as we were tossing themes back and forth, sharing reading matter, this question cropped up from an essay by Jonathan Crary: “24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep”: can human beings live life 24 hours a day and 7 days a week? Is it healthy, right or desirable to stay awake and keep constantly active to the detriment of night? Suddenly we had an interesting selection of themes allowing us to dream up several stories in several places in the world. Because this was about something all of us have above our heads: the stars, the sky, the night. We were faced with a universal catch-all that lent itself to the construction of narratives, coupled with a highly political theme. 

[…] 

Can we take another look at the work that informed your thinking: 24/7 by Jonathan Crary? 

Jonathan Crary’s essay explores the many ways in which people endeavour to put an end to night. Night qua night, in other words the absence of light, of the sun. But also, night which brings sleep, a vital function. 

All research that aims to put an end to night is directed at a form of consumption, exploitation, and continuous production. Karl Marx had predicted that capitalism would put an end to all natural cycles. Nowadays, everything has a market value: love, friendship, food, hunger, thirst… Night is one of the human race’s last bastions of resistance. It indicates that human beings have not yet turned into machines. That they need to sleep. For some, this is extremely irritating, even taboo.  

[…] 

Our capitalist world is reaching its limits. We have gradually moved away from our primary ways of life, in which night plays a role. Beyond its poetic value, night represents a right to introspection. And this right is adversely affected by a factor that often passes unawares: the sheer scale and continual presence of artificial light. It blocks out the stars and prevents us from gazing at the night sky. 

The need to protect night is a new demand. It is championed by many nations: The First Nation peoples of New Zealand, for example. Their successful negotiations have caused lights to be switched off for a certain number of hours per month. Because in their culture, not being able to see the stars creates problems. Darkness is therefore elevated to a political issue. 

The format of the show will be very moveable. Is it important to tackle subject matter like this by ensuring that it reaches the widest possible audience? 

In view of the themes, there is first of all the desire to perform it in the open air. We’re therefore preparing two versions, one for inside the auditorium, the other for beneath the stars… We want to create something fairly simple and therefore moveable, which won’t stop it from being complex in its use of stage grammar. The idea is to make it universal in form so that it can travel. After huge projects like Sylvia and The memory of Trees, it’s good to get back to a small format, included in the repertory and available for an intimate capacity setting, which will allow us to increase the number of venues.

- By Sophie Dupavé

The complete interview is available in the artistic folder.

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