Photo : Inconnu
Imre Kertész: by Margaux Eskenazi
Experience the powerful words of Imre Kertész through this deeply moving musical performance. This intimate encounter blends raw literary expression with hypnotic guitar melodies, offering a unique moment of reflection for those seeking to be stirred by profound human stories.
Mémorial de la Shoah (Paris 4th)
About
On Sunday, December 13, 2026, director Margaux Eskenazi presents a musical reading dedicated to the work of Imre Kertész at the Mémorial de la Shoah. Joined by actress Kenza Laala and musician Malik Soarès, she explores the vitality of Kertész’s writing through a poetic and intimate performance. This event, part of the Vives Mémoires series, invites audiences to engage in a shared reflection on memory. The performance is completely free of charge and fully wheelchair accessible, providing a unique cultural experience in the heart of Paris's 4th arrondissement.
Accompanied by Malik Soarès on the lap steel guitar and Kenza Lalaa performing, Margaux Eskenazi offers an intimate, poetic, and musical dive into selected pieces of the work of Imre Kertész, with whom she has been in dialogue for several years and whose vitality of text she never ceases to pour out. After the triptych developed from 2017 to 2022 with Nous sommes de ceux qui disent non à l'ombre, Et le cœur fume encore and 1983, Margaux Eskenazi launches a new research project around Kertész's literature in a diptych composed of Kaddish, mémoires – partie 1 created in June 2024 at the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, and whose second part, Kaddish, la femme chauve en peignoir rouge, was created at La rose des vents in Lille in January 2026.
Musical reading by Kenza Laala, actress, and Malik Soarès, musician.
As part of VIVES MEMOIRES
Since 2024, the Théâtre de la Ville and the Mémorial de la Shoah have continued their collaboration by offering unique events combining artistic performances, meetings, and exchanges around transmission and the dialogue of memories.
This season, we renew this invitation to think together, in a spirit of sharing and awakening: sharing to learn and feel; awakening to understand and act. Through narratives, literary works, and testimonies, accompanied by artists, historians, and committed personalities, these meetings offer keys to understand the troubled times of today, to better face those of tomorrow, and to reaffirm what unites us: our common humanity.
Our take on this event
Margaux Eskenazi continues her research into the literary world of Imre Kertész on December 13, 2026, from 17:00 to 18:00. Building upon her recent theatrical work on the Kaddish diptych, this performance features Kenza Laala delivering the readings, underscored by Malik Soarès on lapsteel guitar. The event is an invitation to dive into the profound and resilient texts of Kertész, an author with whom Eskenazi has maintained a creative dialogue for years.
This session is part of Vives Mémoires, a collaborative project between the Théâtre de la Ville and the Mémorial de la Shoah. By blending artistic performance with public exchange, the series aims to foster a space for shared thought and collective memory. Through these literary narratives, the organizers provide perspectives on contemporary challenges and the importance of our common humanity.
The event is free to attend, with no reservation required, and the venue is fully wheelchair accessible. Guests are invited to attend this hour-long reflection designed to inspire understanding and dialogue.
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