Theater in Paris: “Arletty, a very busy heart”, a sulphurous passion under the Occupation

On the pedestal table, white roses, an old telephone but also portraits of Arletty and Hans Jürgen Soehring, a German officer ten years his junior. The decor of “Arletty, a very busy heart”, at the Théâtre des Mathurins in Paris (8th century), does not need embellishments to carry extracts from the 638 letters that the two lovers wrote to each other. Béatrice Costantini plays an Arletty from 1970 who justifies her passion to a young journalist who comes to knock on her door. “You don’t know anything about love, you can feel it a mile away,” she tackles him from the outset.

François Nambot, also director of this play, then launches a game of ping-pong around this love letter. She regrets nothing – “Piaf stole the words from me” – their love did not speak of the war, but of the lack of the other and of pretty landscapes. Blue flowers in chaos. The actress from “Children of Paradise” did not hide this passionate romance, which led to her being handcuffed to the crowd in October 1944, then judged. What will remain of his troubles is this famous line: “My heart is French but my ass is international. »

“Arletty, a very busy heart”, at the Théâtre des Mathurins until December 28, from Thursday to Saturday at 7 p.m. Single price: 30 euros. theatredesmathurins.com