Cyril Teste's Opening Night at Romaeuropa Festival: A Forced Cinematic-Theatrical Hybrid

Cyril Teste presented his adaptation of John Cassavetes' 1977 film Opening Night at the XXXIV edition of Romaeuropa Festival. The performance, created with Collectif MxM, attempts to invert Cassavetes' original approach by performing the filmic process live on stage, aiming to make spectators truly participatory. The dramaturgy remains faithful to Cassavetes' screenplay, including cuts and notes, but reduces characters and actions. Starring Isabelle Adjani as Myrtle Gordon, Morgan Lloyd Sicard as Maurice Aarons, and Frédéric Pierrot as both Manny Victor and the stage director (an alter ego of Teste or ghost of Cassavetes), the show is shot in a single sequence shot, allowing for interruptions. Despite Teste's claim that "technology alone is not innovative, it's the use we make of it," the production is criticized for annihilating the expressive power of both theater and cinema, resulting in a forced outcome. The attempt to involve the audience—by occasionally framing the audience and addressing them directly—is deemed insufficient. While the audience gave a standing ovation, the review questions the relevance of revisiting classics and mixing media to create new languages, arguing that the spectator is already an active protagonist.