A why Aurelia?
Q: Why is your name Aurelia?
Because of Aurelia, by Gérard de Nerval.

B for Beauté (beauty)
Q: Is Beauty subjective ? Is it formatted? Is it of cultural meaning? Or Universal?
It is often indefinable. A glimpse that reveals something intimate. A moment during which everything lines up.

C for Clan
Q: The family as a clan, a family circle rather than a clan, not a clan but life as a circus?
I’ve always had the feeling that the clan, is the others.

D for Désespoir (despair)
Q:  is Despair a feeling, a state of being, a cause, a consequence?
It’s better to think that despair can be a driving force. Or can bring about change. It’s better to believe it. Because otherwise despair is harmful.

E for Envie (desire)
Q: Desire for a child, for another life, for you
Somebody once told me that desire is the opposite of death.

F for Frère (brother)
Q: With regard to a brother being an integral part of the family circle.
My brother is a stranger whom I am deeply fond of. Close and complex.

G for Gastronomie
Q: The art of the table or quite simply to feed oneself.
When I was a teenager, it seemed as if happiness was also about satisfying one’s hunger. However hunger returns with insistence.

H for Hasard (chance)
Q: The fortunes of life Les hasards de la vie
"Les hasards de la vie" or "chance", is a wild animal, impossible to tame, it appears when you least expect it, even if you spend your life seeking it. No one knows where it resides, nor what its needs are. But it is voracious. We just know it can create life, construct destinies, and give, for a brief moment, illumination. (It is a humble and yet incredibly potent animal. Won’t let itself be defined either. Totally uncontrollable and fiercely mysterious.)

I for Idées (ideas)
Q: From its conception through to its realisation.
An idea must be seized immediately before it packs up and goes to find somebody else. There are ideas which live for an hour and others which are devoted to more glorious paths. One never knows.

J for Jouer (to play)
Q: Playing is a reason for living, a supplementary form of expression. To play is to breathe.
One imitates in the first months of existence. To play is to define a mirror, to create some life. Perhaps it is also a means of defining oneself, of entering the group? As for breathing, yes, perhaps, it is also about breathing better.

K for Kangourou (kangaroo)
Q: The one that put you in its pouch/pocket. Who would you like to put into yours?
I like the idea of being put into someone’s pocket. To be able to observe, in full comfort, another person’s rhythm. As for who I would like to put in mine: Ah!

L for le La (an A note) or Lyre
Q: What is the place of music in your life? What types of music do you like?
I listen to music before every show, in my dressing room, during warm-up. Visceral.

M for Murmure des murs (Murmurs)
Q: M is for Murmurs des Murs/the murmur of the Walls.( Why is this the title of the show? }
Why not. the subject was appealing: Walls. As in, the chambers of our existence, those surfaces which hide us, protect us, and sometimes imprison. Walls that we have built ourselves and Walls that others built for us. Sometimes exaggerated in size; sometimes too small. They are the silent witnesses of our life and dreams, its tragedy and happiness. They are part of one when no longer outside. (What if these walls breathed out our stories? What if they had absorbed our desires, thoughts and disappointments? What if they began to murmur in reply?) How much is one influenced by the places where one lives without realizing it?

N for Non (no). Knowing when to say no. And O for Oui (yes) = concensus?
Q: Is a concensus possible?
I find it difficult to say No. But I back away fast. Or to say Yes, but if I am there, it means yes. I have respect for those who know how to say No. I aspire to that particular talent. Silence is often a replacement, when fundamentally, a No is a No till it becomes a Yes. In that way a No can also be a sign of respect.

O for L’Oratorio d’Aurelia  (Aurelia’s Oratorio).
Q: How did the show come about.
It was constructed little by little. It travelled the world. It replied with an urgency, an evidence and a lining up of desires. It stayed enigmatic. Even though we played it for 8 years. And it will stay enigmatic when we return to it, as I hope, until there is no more point to it……

P for Père (father)
Q: Your father.
A beautiful enigma. My father is my father.

Q for Querelle (quarrel)
Q: How to manage conflict. The expression of conflict.
Still learning.

R for Respect
Q: What is it that inspires respect?
The life of others, their creativity in the face of conflict and pitfalls. Their courage.

S for Schizophrénie (schizophrenia)
Q: The artist, a subject susceptible to Schizophrenia?
Probably.

T for Tentation (temptation)
Q: Tempted?
Always.

U for Utopie (utopia)
Q: Which?
I spent more time in my imagination than with my feet on the ground.

V for Victoria
Q: A mother, a mentor?
My mother is my paradox! Often when speaking of the Oratorio, I used to say :My mother has created everything in this show, including myself. Even though one is an ensemble of experiences, of influences and of mysteries.

W for Watt
Q: The power of theatre lamps to light the stage.
I love the lights in a theater. The dreams I most remember often take place  during sunset, probably in Mexico (where I have never been).

X for the chromosome X
Q: the chromosome X: Man.
Ah! Yin and yang? Complimentary? Ambiguous? Fusional? Unpredictable and yet reliable.

Y for les Yeux. Your eyes.
Q: Your beautiful eyes
Thank you.

Z for Zen
Q: A trait, a philosophy of life, an unpredictable attitude? Une force? A strength?

A blog-conversation in September 2011 between Aurelia Thierrée and Hervé Ritable for his personal blog www.leveritableblog.com. Special thanks to David Gothard.