David Bobée Stages Musset's 'Lorenzaccio' at Théâtre du Nord with Contemporary Political Resonance

David Bobée, director of Théâtre du Nord, has adapted and staged Alfred de Musset's monumental play 'Lorenzaccio', originally published in August 1834 as part of 'Un spectacle dans un fauteuil'. Bobée simplified the sprawling narrative—featuring 69 characters and 25 locations—by intertwining it with George Sand's historical account 'Une conspiration en 1537', which provided two-thirds of the source material. The production stars 27-year-old Félix Back as Lorenzo de Médicis, a role famously played by Gérard Philipe at the 1952 Avignon Festival. Back's performance captures the character's tortured, Hamlet-like duality, oscillating between effeminate courtier and political assassin. The set features broken concrete columns and a dust-covered floor that turns red with blood, accompanied by video projections of violent protests and black-helmeted CRS riot police. The cast includes Mexianu Medenou as the cynical Duke Alexandre, Nicolas Moumbounou as his acolyte Maurice, Greg Germain as Philippe, Catherine Dewitt as the mother and Cardinal, Jade Crespy as Louise, Djamil Mohamed as Tebaldeo, and mute actor Jules Turlet who performs in sign language. Bobée's intergenerational and ethnoracial casting draws from the Studio 7 of the École du Nord. The production questions individual and collective political engagement today, set against the backdrop of 16th-century Florence under Medici rule, where republican ideals are crushed by the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe.