“Superb prose, some of the most beautiful in the French language.” — Le Figaro

After his triumph at FIAF in 2017, acclaimed actor and humorist Patrick Timsit returns with a moving theatrical adaptation of Albert Cohen’s Book of My Mother.

Cohen’s masterpiece was written following the death of his mother in Nazi-occupied France while he was in exile in England. The powerful tribute to “the mothers of the world” stayed with Timsit for more than 30 years.

The resulting solo performance, with projections, weaves together an intimate portrait between mother and son; an achingly honest testament to grief and guilt, as well as love and compassion.

No late seating
In French with English supertitles

Creative Team
Performed by Patrick Timsit
Directed by Dominique Pitoiset
After Book of My Mother by Albert Cohen © Editions Gallimard

Production: Les visiteurs du soir – Paris
Co-realisation: Compagnie Pitoiset – Dijon
Residency and premiere at Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy on September 19, 20 and 21, 2017
Compagnie Pitoiset – Dijon is subsidized by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication and the City of Dijon

• About Patrick Timsit
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    Celebrated for his series of one-man shows, his roles in cinema and in theater, Patrick Timsit has been acclaimed for his work on screen and on stage. In 1989, he produced his first show, Timsit, at the Théâtre Le Splendid and subsequently several one-man shows: Lâche le morceau (1990), Vite (1991), Le Millesime 93 (1993). His cinema debut came in 1991’s Mayrig by Henri Verneuil, followed by La Crise (1992) by Coline Serreau, for which he was nominated for a César. Other film appearances include Un indien dans la ville (1994), Pédale douce (Gabriel Aghion, 1994), L’Art (délicat) de la séduction (Richard Berry, 2000), Rue des plaisirs (Patrice Leconte, 2001), Un fil à la patte (Michel Deville, 2004). In 2005, he brought the character François Pignon to life on stage in a dramatic adaptation of L’Emmerdeur by Francis Veber, which was revived in 2008. More recently, he performed his show, The one man stand-up show (2007-2009), Sur la piste du Marsupilami by Alain Chabat (2011), Les Derniers Jours de Stefan Zweig by Laurent Seksik (2012), Inconnu à cette adresse by Kressmann Taylor (2012), Prêt à tout by Nicolas Cuche (2012), and Une chanson pour ma mère by Joël Franka (2013). He directed the musical comedy Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (2008), as well as feature-length films Quasimodo d’El Paris (1997), Quelqu’un de bien (2002), and L’Américain (2004). On television, Timsit has been seen in Deux flics à Belleville (2005) and L’Innocent in 2011. Recent films include Sur la piste du Marsupilami (2012), Gangsterdam (2017), Dalida (2017), and Marie-Francine (2017).

• About Cécile David-Weill
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    Cécile David-Weill is a French-American author who was born and is currently based in New York. She has published work in both English and French. Her most recent work, just published this month, is Parents Under the Influence, Words of Wisdom from a Former Bad Mother(Other Press). Part memoir part guide, this book offers both understanding and remedy to those parents who unwittingly repeat their own parents’ mistakes. This offbeat parenting bible shows that the road to bad parenting is paved with good intentions. David-Weill is also the author of three novels, Crush (Grove Press, 1997) and two comedies of manners set in glamorous French locales—Femme de… (in French, Grasset, 2002) and The Suitors (Other Press, 2012). She published also a hilarious collection of tips for surviving in the Big Apple, Chroniques de New York (in French, Grasset, 2014).

• About Dominique Pitoiset
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    Dominique Pitoiset studied architecture and visual arts at the Beaux-Arts in Paris before enrolling at the École Supérieure d’art dramatique du Théâtre national de Strasbourg (TNS). Upon graduating in 1981, he became an assistant to Jean-Pierre Vincent, Manfred Karge, and Matthias Langhoff. In 1983, he founded his own company as a parallel venture. In 1996, he was appointed director of the Dijon National Theatre Bourgogne, where he became known for his eclectic mix of contemporary and classic works. From 2004 to 2013, he headed the CDN in Bordeaux (TnBA-Théâtre national de Bordeaux en Aquitaine). In 2014, he became an associate artist at the Théâtre Bonlieu Scène nationale in Annecy for a period of three years and moved his company to Dijon, his home town. He has directed numerous operas during his career, including Don Giovanni and Falstaff at the Paris Opera; Haydn’s L’Isola disabitata, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice for the Paris Opera’s Atelier Lyrique; The Turn of the Screw and Salomé at the Bordeaux Opera; and La Bohème at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse.