Faith, Hope and Charity

The work of Alexander Zeldin – an English artist associated with the National Theatre in London and the Odéon in Paris – seems to act by subtraction: condensed on the stage, reality appears naked and intensified, putting on display the delicacy, irony and fragility of human existence. The last chapter of a trilogy dedicated to intimacy in times of crisis, Faith, Hope and Charity, like the previous LOVE (presented at REF21), transports us to a community centre, building yet another theatrical experience capable of capturing the essence of these uncertain times. Rain falls outside. In a dilapidated room on the edge of town, Hazel prepares lunch for those in need, old neighbour Bernard sits quietly in a corner, Beth fights for the custody of her daughter and Mason, a new volunteer, sets out to found a choir. By involving families residing in emergency shelters and professional and non-professional actors, Zeldin builds a spectacle inhabited by simple gestures, silence, insecurities, pain, but also by sudden outbursts of faith, hope and charity. His gaze is a key to access the reality of ordinary, fragile and poetic lives that manage to keep moving forward despite the state of the world.