“I remain convinced that a journalist is not a choirboy and that his role is not to walk in front of processions, dipping his hand into a basket of rose petals. Our profession is not to please, nor to do harm. It is to dip the pen in the wound.” Albert Londres’ integrity has become an emblem of the journalistic profession. In 1924, between 22 June and 20July, he was covering the Tour de France cycling race. He brought a fresh eye, and his astonishment was total.

Nicolas Lormeau lends his voice to his reports and to the 150 or so men riding “like dynamite” on bicycles without gears and on roads that were not really roads. From mountain stages, where the cyclists all risked their lives in descents, to stages on the flat where flint ripped their thighs and dust burned their skin and eyes, the actor identifies himself with the great reporter and embodies this literary monument, a chronicle from another time.

THE THEATRICAL PRACTICE OF THE SOLO is relatively new to the Comédie-Française. Ever since the seventeenth century, the institution has defined itself first as a troupe of actors whose collective identity predominates over the expression of individualities. From as early as 1674 this quality was pointed out by Samuel Chappuzeau in his Théâtre Francois, when he compared theatre troupes to political “bodies” that functioned as so many small “Republics”. Commenting on actors, he wrote that “they admit no superiors, the name alone offends them; they all wish to be equal, and call each other comrades”. The motto of the Comédie-Française, Simul et Singulis (be together and be oneself), which appeared in 1682 along with the emblem of the buzzing hive, characterises this philosophy in which each contributes, though his or her own talent, to the collective work.

No solos... only soloists

While the practice of performing alone on stage is not considered a fitting pursuit, the “solo” form of the monologue is highly appreciated by the public, and sometimes staged to showcase the protagonist in all his or her splendour and in contrast with the rest of the troupe. This is an effect of the star system that clearly emerged in the nineteenth century.
Soloist practices most often developed outside of the theatre’s activity. Some actors embarked on personal tours that were sometimes scheduled without regard for the interests of the Comédie-Française –Talma or Rachel were capable of taking off while leaving their comrades in difficulty. They would travel with trunks full of costumes but recruit fill-in actors and find makeshift sets on the spot to perform the great scenes of their repertoire. The performance then resembled a recital of choice excerpts, selected to showcase the actor whose talent was all the more strongly emphasised given that he or she was performing alongside second-class actors if not to say amateurs.
The monologue per se developed at the end of the nineteenth century, thanks to the Coquelin brothers, but today remains an exception. The motto Simul et Singulis, perfectly sums up the indispensable paradox for any actor who is the member of a Troupe.

• Visual : Hive, engraving by Guillaumot fils

Design and performance: Nicolas Lormeau
Original music and soundtrack: Bertrand Maillot

With the voice of Pierre Hancisse