Anne-Cécile Vandalem's 'Tristesses' Blends Noir, Humor, and Hopperesque Melancholy in Modena

Anne-Cécile Vandalem's theatrical work 'Tristesses' premiered at the Vie Festival in Modena, Italy, in October 2016. The piece, produced by Das Fräulein Kompanie, combines musical theater, humor, and noir codes, drawing on the cinematic style of Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark). Set on a Danish island, the narrative follows eight characters awaiting their end after the local slaughterhouse economy devastated the land and killed inhabitants' dreams. Vandalem references expressionist drama (Maurice Maeterlinck's The Intruder) and classical tragedy, with allusions to Hamlet and Chekhov's The Seagull. The production uses live video and a visible cameraman to duplicate the gaze, creating a kaleidoscopic effect that disperses vision rather than offering clarity. The suicide of Ida occurs offstage, with her body hanging from a Danish flagpole beyond the proscenium, emphasizing the impossibility of containing immense existential pain within the stage space. The work critiques the futility of escape from sorrow, presenting a symbolic, universal dimension of defeat and impotence of the gaze.