Events - Check-Up: A Kafkaesque plunge into hospital absurdity with Bernard Campan

By Cookie, Paris, Theatre Antoine, 28 september 2024

The curtain opens on a sober entrance hall with yellow lines on the floor, a few yellow chairs and a yellow reception counter. The sound of an elevator, a couple emerges, looking lost at the yellow of the room, in fact they have an appointment at the blue point, after several comings and goings here they are again in this hall, it's incomprehensible, the indications always bring them back here to the yellow point.

There's no one to greet them, the room is empty except for a person in a wheelchair, wearing a white mask and shouting, nothing reassuring. We learn that we're in a hospital, that the husband's name is Monsieur Lelievre, and that he's been summoned to see a doctor. The employee insists on asking him for administrative documents and a waiting ticket, even though the waiting room is empty. He is mistakenly referred to as Mr. Lapin.

The situation escalates, Mr. Lelievre loses patience, his wife tries to reassure him, why is his name wrong, why is he in a hospital bed undergoing a whole battery of tests? This absurd situation escalates in intensity, plunging us into incomprehension. The characters are overemphasized, and no way out seems possible.

The minimalist furniture contributes to this feeling of abandonment, emptiness and despair. In the half-light, the sets, pushed by the actors, fit together and evade each other to perfection; the elevator is very well imitated, with its characteristic noise preceding the opening of the doors.  This play is both a ferocious critique of the hospital world and, at the same time, offers us a glimmer of hope, a moment of life, and distills a hint of rebellion from the patients.

The five actors are evenly matched, and the patient in the white mask is excellent, except perhaps for the actress who plays the nurse, who seems to me to fall short of the other characters, a little too much of a caricature.
Despite this irrational story, we continue to follow with pleasure the journey of this patient, excellently played by Bernard Campan, through this Kafkaesque universe. We experience moments of humor, emotion, surprise and fear. In short, you won't be bored!

Synopsis:
Jean-Marc, a triumphant sixty-something, is summoned to hospital because of a computer error. He may be in perfect health, but he's going to have to do everything he can to get out of this misunderstanding: analyses, questionnaires, tests of all kinds - the examination waltz is on!

Check-Up
A play by Sébastien Thiery
Directed by Jean-Louis Benoit
With Bernard Campan, Valérie Keruzore, Manuel Le Lievre, Florence Muller, Emil Abossolo Mbo
From September 12, 2024 Wednesday to Saturday at 9pm and Saturday and Sunday at 4pm
Seen on September 28, 2024 at Théatre Antoine

Photos : Joelle Pinglot / Mulderville