Based on the novel En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule by Édouard Louis. Le Seuil 2014

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THE STORY - Picardy. Early 2000s. Eddy Bellegueule, ten years old, suffers daily from various forms of violence from the people in the village, the boys at school, and his own family. Here, no one likes "fags." In this environment plagued by unemployment and alcoholism, destroyed by material and intellectual poverty, life is lived day by day, taking it out on anything that moves. Misery accompanies a cycle that leads women to become cashiers after dropping out of school, and men to transition from school to factory work. Humiliated and rejected because of his high-pitched voice and mannerisms, Eddy meticulously analyzes his daily life—at home, at school, in the village alleys—to try to carve out a path through this chaos. Perhaps in the hope of escaping and becoming someone. But who? And at what cost?

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THE STARTING POINT - After a cycle of work centered around the works of Annie Ernaux (La Femme de la Photo - created in 2020 - adapted from the novel Les Années, which tells the story of a woman's journey in society from the 1950s to the early 2000s), Le Cri Dévot continues its exploration of self-writing and specifically interrogates the construction of sexuality here. The story of this book is primarily the story of its author. At just 21 years old, it is the cry of pain from a child in an adult's body that is heard. For too long, this cry remained silent—silenced by patriarchy, social injustice, the ruling class, rejection, and shame—so it can only be louder when, as an adult, Édouard Louis decides to no longer remain silent and to make visible the dark parts of his youth while shedding light on a France abandoned and rendered invisible by politics. One day, this child changed his voice, face, and name. He looked back at his story as if he had returned from the dead, and it is this story that we choose to bring to the stage today to open a reflection on the markers and obstacles of an emancipatory adolescent quest.

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EDDY IS A DOUBLE CREATION - On one hand, a stage version, which will be created in December 2025 at the Théâtre Jean Vilar - City of Montpellier. A performance with a phantasmagorical and hybrid aesthetic that pulls the author's initial narrative into strong theatricality. Bastien Molines will solo portray the young Eddy and the adult author, moving back and forth between past and present, action and sociological analysis. Emmanuelle Bertrand and Alexandre Cafarelli will take turns embodying the characters that populate his memories. The electronic music of Allister Sinclair, created live on stage, will interact with a luminous scenography by Paolo Sclar and Claire Eloy.

On the other hand, an in situ form in schools, which may lead to further performances in public spaces. This second version, conceived as an ongoing work in progress, will evolve with each new edition in a participatory dimension. A simplified tri-frontal setup, directly engaging with the audience, which we hope to bring as close as possible to young people in areas where homophobia remains a daily reality and where Édouard Louis's text resonates with urgent relevance.