As the parties and celebrations to bring in the new millennium grow closer, people excluded from society huddle together on the outskirts so as not to give the city a negative image. During a large power cut, they come out of hiding to improvise a fun street carnival – a “beggar’s feast”. This is the story behind the play “Pochade Millénariste” (1999) by contemporary author and playwright Eugène Durif, on which actor Cécile Kiffer based this adaptation dedicated to the voiceless, countryless, homeless and unemployed battling with the liberal economy and who take centre stage in this play.

The COMPAGNIE JEAN BEAUCÉ collective (Dominique Malherbe, musical performance, François Possémé, sound, and Jean Beaucé, direction) have thrown themselves into creating “S.E.F.” (No Fixed Existence), which was shown last year at Station-Théâtre, a former service station in La Mézière, near Rennes. Since then, they have been touring this adaptive play in a variety of locations, along with a full performance of Pochade Millénariste, which also features backstage monologues in support of the victims of the economic war ravaging our society.

The play revolves around two central female characters: La Gueulante, with her frantic stories, accounts and cries, and Marianne, who plays out brutal rejection of anyone who fails to find favour in her eyes to the sound of a violin and mandolin. These two lost and cash-strapped enthusiastic performers wander aimlessly, ridiculing their everyday experiences. Music, songs, and scathing, humorous and emotive words blend with the sounds of the city, adverts and barking dogs. A new world is gradually forged in this microscopic existence, a world that steps out of the box into a violent and poetic reality. S.E.F. is somewhere between theatre and community activism, and is the latest phase in the long history of theatrical work by Rennes-born artist Jean BEAUCÉ.