With A.D.A., a new adaptation of the off-Broadway classic “Other People’s Money”, Antibes’ flagship theatre presents one of the absolute highlights of a brilliant 2023/24 season.

“My true adversary is the world of finance…” This famous statement by former French president François Hollande also aptly reflects the stance of Jerry Sterner, a successful American real estate businessman who in the late 1980s became so disgruntled with the machinations of business that he traded in his prosperous career for that of playwright. A path not dissimilar to that of Daniel Benoin who studied business management but turned his back on economy as soon as he had his PhD in his pocket, only to become one of the most influential French theatre directors.

Small wonder therefore that Daniel Benoin has long been interested in Jerry Sterner’s “Other People’s Money” (1989). Having already regularly staged and performed in various French adaptations of the award-winning satire, Benoin presents an update version of A.D.A. (L’Argent Des Autres) at Théâtre Anthéa in Antibes this June, delving again deeply in the theme of financial capitalism and its wild excesses.

In this 2024 adaptation, the action takes place between Paris and the countryside. An industrial company specializing in metal wires and cables is managed prudently and in the purest paternalistic tradition by André Jorgenson, the founder’s heir, and employs a significant portion of the local population. The company manages to survive as best it can until the day when a certain Garcinet, an unscrupulous financial predator, sets his sights on it and proposes to Jorgenson a restructuring that may well leave the workers out in the cold… From that point on, a duel ensues. And without giving anything away, the story ends as cynically as may be expected.

 
Daniel Benoin reflects on the evolution of his engagement with the play over the years. “A.D.A.: L’Argent Des Autres is a tale of enduring companionship,” he explains. It reaches back to his tenure at the Saint-Étienne Drama Centre, “then-director Pierre Debauche invited me to take on the lead role, and I relished performing this piece that had already captivated me upon reading.”

However, he found himself not entirely satisfied, and staged the play himself in 2004 when he headed the Théâtre National de Nice. Over the following years it tours France to great success. Then, in 2008, it was broadcast live on French national television to a whopping 3,800,000 viewers.

And with both a peculiar timeliness and timelessness, the topic of (un)ethical financial practices never gets old. Benoin therefore felt compelled to revisit the production one more time, perhaps due to the cast he had in mind, or his desire to perform again. The economic turmoil caused by a financier who decides to acquire a company to liquidate it… A scenario where profit reigns supreme with the social consequences we are familiar with. “It’s not very moral but highly relevant. Finance is, as we know, the bane of the economic world. The play dissects the relationship between finance and labor, which politically echoes certain realities. We follow the intrigue of this corporate takeover like a true thriller,” he describes the original work “Other People’s Money”, on which he based his adaptation.

More typically found in the director’s chair, Daniel Benoin steps on the stage himself in this play, surrounded by the crème de la crème of French theatre actors: Béatrice Agenin, Aure Atika, Hippolyte Girardot and Alex Vizorek. Paulo Correia’s video design once again transforms, expertly and aesthetically impacting, the scenography into different settings. Even if you have seen the play elsewhere before, or watched its celluloid version with Danny de Vito, this new adaptation is definitely worth your time and money.

A.D.A. is performed from May 14th to June 2nd, 2024, at Anthéa, Antibes
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 8:00 PM
Friday, Saturday at 8:30 PM
Sunday, June 2nd, at 4:30 PM.
A meeting with the artistic team will take place after the performance on Tuesday, May 28th.

To book tickets, go here

All images courtesy Théâtre Anthéa