Just Do It

Madame Douce-Amere


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Published: Oct 4, 2006

Runs Oct. 6-29, $15-$32, Walnut Street Theatre, 823 Walnut St., 215-592-9560, www.1812productions.org

Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey, a disciple of France's Ecole International de Theatre Jacques Lecoq, has revived her 2005 Live Arts hit Madame Douce-Amere to open 1812 Production's 10th season.

The nonverbal piece combines elements of sign language, pantomime and movement to tell the bittersweet story of love and loss. The ghost of the titular madame's husband, violinist Claude Ferrié (played by James Sugg), provides the haunted music.

"Every year, we have one slot that is dedicated to a solo or small cast show by a local artist," says 1812 artistic director Jennifer Childs. "We choose the one that we're most moved by."

Celine Rames co-directs with Headlong Dance Theater choreographer-performer David Brick, whose somber work in Pig Iron's Love Unpunished was unforgettable, providing comic character dance to tell Madame's story.

"There is a whole vocabulary of nonspoken communication that all of us know, even more so than dance," says Childs. "David is one of the most exciting choreographers. The character that Emmanuelle has created makes this a genuinely unique piece."