Les Nuits Théâtrales de Simone - Saint-Exupéry, The Commander of the Birds

Meet an extraordinary man who made the world dream, and let yourself be carried away on a sensory and poetic journey.

In a moving performance, Franck Desmedt plays the role of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who was first a pioneering aviator, involved in the adventure of l'Aéropostale, then a visionary writer, author of Le Petit Prince and Terre des hommes. The show recreates this dual profile: adventurer of the skies and man of letters, lover and philosopher of action, in search of the absolute.

As a child, Saint-Exupéry was given two nicknames: Le roi soleil, and Pique-la-lune. His whole life was marked by oxymorons. He was a freedom-loving adventurer, who thrived best when serving a cause greater than himself - l'Aéropostale, for example. A dreamer who finds fulfillment in action. A sensitive loner, he's never happier than among his friends. He's an impulsive thinker, and a philosophical adventurer. He has sublimated his torments, first by flying, and above all by writing his masterpieces, which combine poignant tales and hard-hitting reflections. For him, the other does not harm us: he enhances us. He taught us that we cannot predict the future, only allow it to happen. He died to give France a free future. A sense of duty was sacred to him, and his actions embodied his thoughts right up to his last breath.

Cast and crew:
Production / Atelier Théâtre Actuel, Le Lucernaire, NS productions, SeaArt
Text / Mathieu Rannou and Franck Desmedt
Director / Benoît Lavigne
Artistic Collaboration / Sophie Mayer
Set Design / Seymour Laval
Music / Raphaël Chambouvet
Lighting / Laurent Béal
Costumes / Virginie Houdinière