Crazy Frogs could have been a theatrical film adaptation. This is exactly the feeling of a new production by the National Theater of Northern Greece (KTHBE), which stung one of the most popular performances in France to bring it to the Greek stage. The breathtaking nature of the work, the scenes that follow one another at the speed of light, the return to the past, the change of scenery and roles smoothly integrated into the scenes, give a cinematic dimension to the adventurous comedy with which the French director and writer Melody Moore (translated by Giorgos Voudiklaris) approaches a dramatic event based on her book of the same name.

As enticing as its name, borrowed from the contemporary resistance movement to the effects of modern technologies such as the use of personal data, is equally attractive and compelling is the little-known true story of humanity and the solidarity of two doctors, drawn from the life of the darkest period of the last century, World War II. . It was discovered by 33-year-old Moore when, as a journalist, she researched the great inventions that marked the history of Poland. Among them was the typhoid vaccine. Digging through the archives, he stumbled upon an ingenious plan by doctors Yevgeny Lazovsky and Stanislav Matulevich to use the typhoid vaccine as evidence of a deadly disease infecting the region, saving the lives of 8,000 Jewish residents of the village of Rozadow, Poland. .

A simple yet inventive set by Eli Somiak, curated by Danai Pana; on wheels, it turns into a New York bar, a Polish apartment, a doctor’s office, a train station, a post office through wet or snowy streets, jumping from one era to another. other (1940, 1944, 1990). “The ‘safety’ of time distance allows for a lot of fantasy,” Melody Mouret “K” explains. “Both in the book and in the play, she connects the past with the present, and the narration of an elderly doctor describing the actions of his grandfather Eugene to his friend’s granddaughter is interspersed with humor that lends a light tone to the play.”

“The goal was not to make a copy of the French performance,” explains the French director. “The foundation remains the same, but in KTHBE, the physical performance of twelve actors playing over 25 characters opened up another performance with a cinematic vibe.” On the stage at the director’s assistant Alexei Tsima, everything gets tangled like lace. The seasons, the change of scenery and roles on the stage by the actors without interrupting the flow of the narrative, the musical composition for the film by Simon Mere (writes visual music), the characters of two doctors of different ages (Stelios Kalaitzis and Thanos Feretzelis), the magnificent performance of all the actors in the main and secondary roles with hints of brulesque, works like a good-natured orchestra. “If something goes wrong, even one movement, it will pull the whole performance along like dominoes,” explained choreographer Nina Dina, who works with the Theater de La Ville and has been in Thessaloniki exclusively for Crazy Frogs.

Melody Mouret brought to the theater the trick of two doctors who saved thousands of Jews in Poland during World War II.

Mouret approached real human history with humor and sensitivity to ask if “crazy frogs” exist today? “They may be a small percentage, as the Milligram experiment showed, but they are there,” he replies. “Crazy frogs are those who resist the absurdity of any authority. those who refuse to obey small or large orders of violence and injustice. those who have realized that the planet is “going to hell” and are changing their consumption habits. those who are fighting in Iran for their rights.”

Wasn’t she like the nine-actor “crazy frogs” she fished out of drama schools and TV shows to stage her first book while rehearsing in her living room? “It was a gamble because the show in Paris was embraced by audiences of all ages. I’m lucky.”

Since 2018, the performance has been staged without interruption (with the exception of quarantine due to the pandemic) in Paris and on tour (600 performances), receiving awards and nominations for the Moliere Prize. Already her second work, The Battle of the Giants, is touring various countries, and in September last year, her first novel for teenagers (Max Tallent) was released. Where does he attribute success? “In the codes of the expressions of my generation that I write and direct with. I write folk, simply, not populist and simplistic. Writing gives free rein to the imagination, and theater in an era when the world is behind the screen is a great way to gather people with different views, to “wander”, to reflect. After all, this is the magic of the theater.”

“Crazy Frogs”, Theater of the Society for Macedonian Studies, National Theater of Northern Greece, Wednesday to Saturday.