Mosaic – Dublin Fringe Festival – Review
Mosaic – Louis Deslis

Venue – Project Arts Centre – Cube
Duration – 55mins

This production takes us on a personal journey through a troubled time in the writer’s life. Louis Deslis has just experienced heartbreak. The love of his life, a Northern Irish man, has just ended things between them and Louis is returning home to see his family in France. We follow him over a number of weeks immediately after the event. He meets his brother and his girlfriend and goes for nights out with them. At times Louis is pulsing with volatile emotions, overreacting to some quite mundane situations. He spends time with his grandmother, who is recovering from a broken leg, and this time acting as a carer for this gentle spirit helps to soothe him.

This is a one-man show in the form of a monologue. The production talks about the simple things in life and what matters to us all. It is a production about a man living overseas, trying to find some substance in his life. One of the most unusual aspects of the production is Louis’ language skills. Louis is a gifted linguist and drifts between English and French with ease. His skill with different accents is also impressive, as he changes from Dublin to Northern Irish accents, before moving back to his natural French accent.

Louis was previously at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2019 with a piece called Patchwork, which went on to win the Little Gem Award. This new production was developed in the Scene+Heard Festival and is directed by the well-known director and playwright Lee Coffey (writer of In Our Veins and the much-loved Leper + Chip)

The play is based around the time of the last election in France, where the question on everyone’s lips is who you are going to vote for. The public wants change away from Macron but there is fear that Le Pen is too extreme in her views. Another unusual aspect is that it explores the playwright’s love of Celine Dion and her music features heavily throughout the work.

This is quite a simple tale that will resonate with many. An unexpected end of a relationship is something a lot of people have experienced. While heartbreak is the source of a thousand love songs, it is rarely the focus of a play and the wealth of emotions during this time is seldom discussed on stage. Louis’ use of language is also impressive, as he drifts between different accents and languages. The play gives us a sample of life for a young man at a difficult time, but it is at these times you learn valuable lessons about life.

Cast and Crew:

Written and performed by Louis Deslis.
Directed by Lee Coffey.
Lighting by Eoin Byrne.

PERFORMANCES – 9, 10, 12 & 13 September  – 21:15, €15/€13

OTHER PERFORMANCES
14 September  – 13:15
16 September – 15:30, €15/€13

Image: Adrien Simonazzi