Event details

Hugues Jourdain and Victoria Quesnel have crafted a captivating production based on the novel, Nom, written by Constance Debré. In her third book, Debré pursues her relentless quest for freedom, charting a new course in her struggle: how to love better? She casts off the "corpses" haunting her life and abandons almost everything—family, marriage, career—even contemplating the abolition of her lineage and her family name. On a bare stage, where only the power of words resonates, Victoria Quesnel—whose work in Julien Gosselin’s productions has drawn acclaim—makes this raw voice her own, immersing the audience in an unfiltered, brilliant, abrasive train of thought.

Constance Debré left her career as a lawyer to become a writer. She is the author of a trilogy of novels: Playboy, Love Me Tender, and No Name (Nom). This production marks the first time a text by Debré has been adapted for the stage.

Photo Gallery

• Photo by Simon Gosselin

• Photo by Simon Gosselin

• Photo by Simon Gosselin

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Tickets

Free and open to the public; advance tickets required. Tickets available in late August through University Ticketing.

Performance Details

Show performed in French. Duration: 1 hour, 15 min. Content appropriate for ages 15+

See all shows in 2026 French Theater Festival

Trailer

Directions

Get directions to the Hearst Theater, located on the Forum level of the Lewis Arts complex, and find other venue information for the arts complex.

Accessibility

The Hearst Dance Theater is an accessible venue with an assistive listening system. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information about our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.

About the Artists

Hugues Jourdain

At the age of 21, Hugues was accepted into the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, Classe libre of Cours Florent and won the Olga Horstig Prize. He subsequently appeared in films such as Étienne Comar’s Django, Noémie Saglio’s Telle mère, telle fille, and the Netflix production En passant pécho. On stage, he has performed under the direction of Philippe Calvario, Yann-Joël Collin, Clément Hervieu-Léger, and Laurent Bellambe; he also founded the company "Je t’embrasse bien," dedicated to contemporary dramatic writing. In 2018, he adapted Guillaume Dustan’s novel Dans ma chambre into a solo show, performing it at the Théâtre du Petit Saint-Martin. In 2022, he performed alongside Michel Houellebecq in Existence à basse altitude—a show based on the author’s poetry—at the Rex Club and the Printemps de Bourges festival. He also presented his play Dernier amour at the Théâtre Monfort; the production toured to Épernay, Tours, Angers, Annecy, and Amiens in 2023, followed by runs at the Théâtre Paris-Villette in September and the Théâtre de Vanves in October.

In 2024, he revived Dans ma chambre for a tour across France and presented Nom—his new show adapted from Constance Debré’s novel—first in January 2024 at La Maison du Théâtre in Amiens, and subsequently in Paris at the Théâtre du Rond-Point.

Victoria Quesnel

After training at the Bordeaux Conservatory, Victoria joined the École du Nord. There, she met Stuart Seide, who directed her in Dejan Dukowski’s Quel est l’enfoiré qui a commencé le premier in 2009. She subsequently worked under the direction of Laurent Hatat, Cécile Backès, and Arnaud Anckaert, as well as with Tiphaine Raffier, who directed her in La Chanson and later in her second production, Dans le Nom.

Since 2010, she has been a member of the collective Si Vous Pouviez Lécher Mon Coeur, with whom she has created productions including Fausto Paravidino’s Gênes 01, Anja Hilling’s Tristesse Animal Noir, Michel Houellebecq’s Les Particules Élémentaires, Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, Don DeLillo’s Joueurs, Mao II, and Les Noms, Leonid Andreyev’s Le Passé, and Sturm und Drang (part of the Volksbühne repertoire in Berlin), all directed by Julien Gosselin. She also performed in his latest production, Extinction (based on Thomas Bernhard), which premiered in 2023 at the Printemps des Comédiens festival in Montpellier before touring and Maldoror that was presented last summer at Festival d’Avignon in the Courtyard of Honor.
In 2024, she performed under the direction of Pascal Rambert and Lorraine de Sagazan.

Production Credits

Adapted from the novel by Constance Debré
Directed by: Hugues Jourdain
Performed by: Victoria Quesnel
Light design: Coralie Pacreau
Sound design: Hippolyte Leblanc
Musical creation: Samuel Hecker
Stage management: Roméo Rebière
Administration: Virginie Hammel & Julien Tanguy / Le Petit Bureau

Production

Text published by éditions Flammarion
Production Company Je t’embrasse bien
Coproduction Maison du Théâtre d’Amiens Métropole. With the support of Ville de Paris, Channel – Scène nationale, Malakoff – Scène nationale, Théâtre Ouvert – CNDC. Compagny in residency Maison du Théâtre d’Amiens Métropole. Text published by Éditions Flammarion

Special Thanks

Hugues Jourdain, Laurence de Magalhaes, Victoria Quesnel, Virginie Hammel, and Julien Tanguy.