Five people are standing on a darkened stage. During the performance they will enact events and small stories in a total of 16 different languages. We will meet fragments of situations: some shorter, other longer. A customer service call in Colombia, a countdown for an anaesthetic in Danish, a therapy session in Belgium, a Portugese lecture on economy, to name a few. Some of the stories contain a structured narrative – most of them don’t.

The voices threaten and make promises alternately. They give declarations of love and war, they pray, they incite and kill and are forced to make hard decisions. They speak words of comfort, terror, threat, denial and coalescence. The stories revolve around big questions like politics, as well as intimate contemplations. The actors start out talking one at a time, but as the piece progresses, the voices overlap and intertwine more and more.

Suite n° 2 is a form of celebration of every-day language. The tempo, nuances, melodies and accents of the different stories makes the audience listen to the words in a whole new way – what does an aggressive choice of words actually sound like? Or the delighted exclamation, or a direct order?
Since the 90’s, Joris Lacoste, currently residing in Paris, has been a very respected playwright. Today he can also title himself as an author, director and dramaturge. His work is often research based, taking inspiration from sound art, literature and music amongst others.

Suite n° 2 is a documentary piece; all the texts has previously been presented somewhere in the world. Performing arts collective Encyclopedie de la Parole, where Lacoste is one of the founders, has collected these texts. Since 2007 they have compiled a vast amount of voice recordings from social media, TV and film and then classified them according to various linguistic aspects. This catalogue is available online, but it’s only with Suite n° 2 that these recordings has been brought together and performed live by the five amazing actors.

Suite n° 2 is a fascinating and very unique play in terms of its precision, form and in the direct force contained in the texts. So take this opportunity to be overturned by words in this observation of the languages of mankind!

Languages heard in the performance: English, Japanese, Frenc, Arabic, Dutch, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Croatian, Lingala, Chinese, Danish, Sanskrit, Urdu. The performance has English subtitles.

Concept: Encyclopédie de la Parole
Composition/direction: Joris Lacoste
Music: Pierre-Yves Macé
On stage: Vladimir Kudryavtsev, Emmanuelle Lafon, Nuno Lucas, Barbara Matijevic, Olivier Normand
Assistance: Elise Simonet
Sound/videodesign, technical director: Florian Leduc
Sound: Stéphane Leclercq
Costume: Ling Zhu
Production and administration: Dominique Bouchot et Marc Pérennès
Project development: Judith Martin / Ligne Directe
Production: Echelle 1:1 (with the support from Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication /DRAC Ile- de-France).
Co-production: T2G Théâtre de Gennevilliers / Festival d’Automne à Paris, Asian Culture Complex – Asian Arts Theater Gwangju, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne, Steirischer Herbst Festival, Théâtre Agora-Seinendan, La Villette – résidences d’artistes 2015, Théâtre national de Bordeaux en Aquitaine, Rotterdamse Schouwburg. Suite N°2 is co-procuced by NXTSTP with the support from Creative Europe Program. With support from av l’Institut Français och programmet Théâtre Export and CIRCLES, and the Nouveau Théâtre de Montreuil. Earlier recidency at  l’Usine, Scène conventionnée (Tournefeuille).