Parpaing

Text selected for the 2022 programme of the Panorama Théâtre(s) at the Maison du Théâtre in Amiens.

“Hi. My name’s Nicolas. My birth certificate says I was born in Bellac on 23 June 1979; I know nothing else. One afternoon in 1989, the weather was lovely outside; my grandmother was chatting to the cashier at the Coccinelle, and she’d treated me to an ice cream. And thinking I was far away, licking the ice cream with relish, she let the cat out of the bag: ‘Yes, that’s him! He’s the family’s adopted child!’ Except that I was right there. At the age of ten, quite by chance, I realised I was adopted. ”

parpaing is a journey – one of resilience.

Become who you are.

In search of identity, in search of himself, Nicolas has always been fighting to become someone. On 19 September 2017, everything came crashing down. At a turning point in his chaotic life, his biological family tracked him down. Born to unknown parents, he discovered a brother, a sister and a biological mother who had passed away. His life story had therefore been built entirely on lies. From now on, there would be no certainties. Who benefits from family secrets? The concrete block is a symbol of the environment in which he grew up, of that low-middle-class industrial estate. It ties together the many truths of his life.