Dolto - Lorsque Françoise Paraît - Théâtre Comédie Odéon - Lyon

Dolto, lorsque Françoise paraît at Théâtre Comédie Odéon

At Théâtre Comédie Odéon, we welcome Dolto, lorsque Françoise paraît as a vital encounter between stage and life, a theatre portrait that invites audiences to sit close to the heartbeat of a pioneering voice. Our intimate room is designed for the kind of listening this production requires: the quiet breath of a confession, the flash of an idea, the ripple of laughter when personal memory brushes against collective experience. Here, the figure of Françoise Dolto emerges not as a monument but as a presence—contradictory, generous, exacting—captured through deft writing and calibrated acting that move from childhood scenes to professional revelations with cinematic clarity. We are delighted to host a work that trusts audiences to think and feel at once, where language becomes action and the smallest gesture carries the weight of an entire life. In Lyon, where conversations about education, care, and civic life have long intertwined, this staging finds a natural home on our stage.

A living portrait and a timely return to Lyon

What makes Dolto, lorsque Françoise paraît so arresting in our theatre is its blend of intimacy and momentum. The production maps the journey of a woman who listened radically—to children, to parents, to society—and transforms that listening into theatre. Scenes flow like consultations, recollections, and public talks, punctuated by moments of humour that keep the rhythm lively without diluting the gravity of the ideas. Our technical team has focused on crisp sound and a warm, precise light plot so that every fragment of text feels legible and alive, while the scenic vocabulary remains understated: a space for thought to circulate. The dramaturgy foregrounds essential questions—what it means to speak, to be heard, to grow—inviting the audience to measure their own history against the story onstage. Whether you arrive with a deep familiarity with psychoanalysis or simply curiosity about a singular life, you will find a piece that is rigorous yet accessible, intimate yet expansive.

This season, the creative team behind Dolto, lorsque Françoise paraît continues to share the production widely, with engagements across national stages and conversations arranged around each performance. Their current artistic activity extends beyond the show itself: post-performance dialogues, educational encounters, and public talks that open the rehearsal room to students and practitioners, all of which we are proud to facilitate in Lyon. The ensemble is also developing new material that explores how personal narratives intersect with public discourse, and early workshop showings have revealed a keen continuity with the rigor audiences appreciate here. For our part, Théâtre Comédie Odéon is aligning resources to support this living conversation: careful scheduling that allows time for meetings with audience members, a relaxed foyer environment for after-show exchanges, and partnerships with local cultural and academic actors who enrich the discussion. By hosting this production now, we aim to offer not only a finely crafted evening of theatre, but an encounter that resonates beyond the curtain call.