Scenes from a marriage at the Odéon: a couple confronts violence

Presented from May 20 to June 7, 2026 at the Odéon - Théâtre de l'Europe, Scenes from a marriage is the latest creation by Markus Öhrn, a Swedish artist renowned for his transgressive scenic devices. Freely adaptingIngmar Bergman 's work, the director offers a contemporary, burlesque reading of the classic Scenes from a Marriage, performed here by two French actors, Hélène Morelli and Mathieu Perotto. The play has an estimated running time of 2 hours 20 minutes, including an intermission, and two performances with audio description are scheduled for Thursday May 28 and Sunday May 31.

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Originally conceived as a TV series for Swedish television before being transposed to film in 1973, Scenes from Married Life follows the story of Johan and Marianne, a couple whose relationship slowly crumbles over the course of ten years together. Bergman explores the contradictions of marital intimacy, between the desire for fusion and the need for independence. Markus Öhrn draws on this dramatic material to offer a rereading marked by grotesqueness and distortion. Abandoning all forms of realism, he installs his characters in a white space that resembles a stage laboratory, where faces are concealed beneath exaggerated masks, and affects translated by outrageous expressivity.

Far from faithfully reproducing Bergman's dialogues, this new version shifts the focus to a more direct questioning of domestic violence, both physical and psychological. The staging draws on references as diverse as Grand-Guignol theater, the codes of masked theater and cartoon aesthetics, to create an effect of emotional saturation. The spectator is thus confronted with an accumulation of gestures and cries, which cause the marital chronicle to slide into a form of absurd ritual, revealing the shadowy areas lurking behind the facades of everyday life.

The show is aimed at audiences drawn to experimental scenic proposals, performative theater and radical visual forms. On the other hand, it may disconcert fans of classic adaptations or those looking for a faithful approach to the original film. Although inspired by Bergman, Markus Öhrn's approach deliberately moves away from psychological introspection to propose an expressionist form in which the couple's relationship becomes a field for dramatic experimentation.

WithScenes from a marriage, Markus Öhrn transforms an intimate story into a powerful visual performance, where farce and pain intertwine in an uncompromisingly frontal staging.

Transparency note: This article is based on information available to date and is not based on a viewing of the show.

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