De si gracieux sourires (Such gracious smiles) is an 18-minute sequence shot. Different scenes follow on in a single space that is constantly modulated by the appearance and disappearance of the sets. This is the meeting of an awkward actress, a condescending director, three bossy psychiatrists who enjoy telling stories that end badly, a lecturer, an assistant with strange manners and a trio of singers on wheels accompanied by a children’s choir.

This merry pack creates stories that intertwine and, by different narrative paths and performative actions, evoke the ambiguity and polysemy of the smile.

In French, the world sourire comes from the Latin subridere, meaning to put on a laughing or ironic expression, designed to deceive. A smile is formed by the tensing of the muscles at the two corners of the mouth, but also around the eyes. It comes from a vibration that combines joy and terror, wonder and dread. It expresses varied, contradictory feelings. Smiling to express one’s contentment, to coax, to seduce, defend oneself, mock…

The smile as a wound in the middle of the face, like a weapon of mass destruction. De si gracieux sourires plays with the codes of performance, dance, theatre and cinema and tries to offer the finest of fêtes.