Thomas Bernhard's 'Tout est calme dans les hauteurs' at Théâtre du Rond-Point

Jean-François Sivadier directs Thomas Bernhard's little-known play 'Tout est calme dans les hauteurs' at Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris. The production stars Nicolas Bouchaud as Moritz Meister, a self-proclaimed literary genius, and Nora Krief as his wife Anne, living in a luxurious mountain retreat in the Bavarian Prealps. Juliette Bialek plays doctoral student Mademoiselle Werdenfels, an expert on Meister's work. The play, a cruel comedy, satirizes bourgeois arrogance and lingering Nazi ideology in post-war Germany and Austria. Sivadier and his cast, including Frédéric Noaille as a journalist and an editor, deliver a burlesque, clownish performance that pushes absurdity to the point of farce. Marguerite Bordat's set design features empty spaces and curtains, revealing a pile of painted canvases at the end. The text also reflects Bernhard's own thoughts on writing, death, and recognition. While the first half is explosive, the second half drags as comic routines wear thin. The production is praised for reviving a neglected theatrical work with courage and talent.