Jean Luc Lagarce: Only the End of the World ^{2 0 2 4}

Matija Ferlin’s directing of Lagarce transcends traditional drama to become a “rhapsodic scenic essay”, where the weight of the unspoken carries as much power as the spoken word. The narrative centers on Louis, a 34-year-old man who, shadowed by his own imminent mortality, returns to his childhood home after a long absence to face the family he left behind. His arrival triggers a visceral collision with his mother, his younger sister, his brother, and his sister-in-law, exposing deep-seated emotional wounds and the agonizing failure of communication between those who should be closest. Ferlin’s choreo-directorial signature treats Lagarce’s poetic language as a sixth character, using it to highlight the tension between the need for connection and the inability to achieve it. This duality is anchored by a ensemble as communitas, paraphrasing many elements of “the Ferlin oeuvre”, thus navigating a world where the body speaks as loudly as the script. The choreography of movement, particularly the physical dynamics between the brothers, breathes life into the characters’ existential crises, while Mauricio Ferlin and Josip Kresović’s opulent, dreamlike scenography of flowers and fences, much of it reused from a previous production, serves as a haunting backdrop. A particularly striking visual metaphor features the protagonist mirrored by a shadow-figure constructed from pieces of a coffin, emphasizing the inescapable presence of death. Through a blend of uncompromising research, grotesque humor, and physical intensity, Ferlin has not only delivered a sophisticated introspective piece but has also solidified his role as a transformative force in the cultural landscape of Pula, offering a poetic bonus to those open to the raw, fragmented power of contemporary theatre.