The Vitalabri [Les Vitalabri]

The play focuses on the fate of a family who belong to a class of people considered outcasts. The Vitalabri (Live-in-shelters) have no homeland. They are at home everywhere and nowhere. Undocumented, and with a violin as their only possession, the family is always on the road. They are fleeing soldiers who seek them out to brand them with a V on their foreheads. Unless they are found sleeping on the street, it is difficult to recognize them. There is no typical Vitalabri profile. They are neither too tall nor too short. Their noses can be either round or pointed. But this doesn't matter because they are denigrated and persecuted wherever they go. So the Vitalabri are always on the run. The family finally finds peace when they become resident musicians, but they do not forget their people with the V branded on their foreheads, even though they are almost all gone.

Format: Youth theater piece (modern tale)

Cast Size: 4 characters

Notes:

See also Festival d’Avignon Off, Théâtre du Petit Louvre, Templiers, 2016.

Original or Prominent Production:
Directed by Lisa Wurmser, Théâtre de la Véranda. Puppets: Pascale Blaison, Musical creation, violin: Eric Slabiak, Costumes: Marie Pawlotsky, Lighting design, stage management: Philippe Sazerat, Set design Alain Deroo; with Pascale Blaison, Olga Grumberg, Eric Slabiak, Pascal Vannson.

Original Language: French

Publisher:

Actes Sud, 2014, with illustrations by Ronan Badel.

Experience(s) Chronicled: Allegoric or Metaphoric Representations | Reactions to the Holocaust