© Bernard Richebé

There are all kinds of plays: ones on stage based on a great individual performance, intimate and/or original plays taking advantage of direct interaction with the audience, shows for children... But this that we come to see when we go to the Marigny theater for Ruy Blas, it's a classic. A category which, for the ambition of the work and its almost heritage character, is a class apart, a risky bet which can attract both praise and indignation to the director. So bet held? Well... it depends. If it is inconceivable to qualify the version proposed by Jacques Weber as a failure, it is also difficult to qualify it as a masterpiece, for several reasons.

The first lies in the choice of casting. Because to take on such a challenge, you have to be both cautious and daring. This is what the director did, relying both on established actors like Kad Merad and Jean-Pierre Muel, and young stars in the making like Basile Larie (who had the difficult task of playing Ruy Blas in person) and Stéphane Caillard. And if all the performances are commendable, the ease of the elders nevertheless betrays the great desire to do well of their younger ones. Kad Merad indeed seems like a fish in water on stage. Each of his interventions is fluid, natural and never fails to draw a laugh from his audience. Basile Larie's is energetic, powerful, but does not seem as relevant and sometimes gives the impression of doing too much. This is particularly noticeable in his multiple tirades and monologues where the fiery, almost rebellious Ruy Blas manages only too little to leave room for the young, loving and naive boy.

There are also things to say about the staging. Here again, the challenge is met. You have to be modern and innovative, without straying too far from the playwright's intentions and message. The proposals in this sense are interesting and make the play entertaining, dynamic and highlight certain characters (notably that of Don Caesar and Casilda, the queen's attendant and confidante). Despite everything, we fail to have that trigger, that little extra that gives us the impression of witnessing something complete, relevant.

So, should we go see Ruy Blas? Certainly. Despite the limitations mentioned, the play remains a classic among the classics that one must have seen, if only to enrich one's general knowledge. The story is strong, the language rich and voluptuous and the location perfectly suited for such an event. There is a very good chance that you will have a good time going to the Théâtre Marigny. This is also why the feeling at the release is ambivalent: the piece, which promised to be one of the major performances of this end of year, was ultimately "only a pleasant moment of theater" of which we will keep a pleasant memory.

THÉÂTRE MARIGNY, 75008
From September 27 to November 12, 2023
From Wed. to Sat. at 8 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 3 p.m.
From 22 to 70 €