The Alliance Française de San Francisco Presents: Antony De Azevedo’s Powerful Reimagining of Richard – September 18, 2025

The Alliance Française de San Francisco is thrilled to announce an exceptional theatrical evening featuring acclaimed French artist Antony De Azevedo, who will perform his visionary production Richard on September 18, 2025.

This unmissable performance is set to be a cultural milestone for AFSF, offering a radical and evocative adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard III. Crafted and directed by De Azevedo himself, Richard draws from François-Victor Hugo’s French translation of the play, reimagined through a modern, urban lens.

Rather than a conventional historical retelling, Richard unfolds in the eerie confines of a fictional Paris metro station named Pouvoir (“Power”). Here, the titular character is no royal figure but a homeless man, afflicted with gangrene and hidden in plain sight among daily commuters. One night, he discovers a crown-shaped charm from a king cake in a trash bin — a moment that sparks his hallucinatory rise to power as the ruthless Richard III.

In this gritty urban parable, the mundane transforms into the mythic: metro announcements become divine oracles, and a mysterious female commuter morphs into the many women of Shakespeare’s world — Lady Anne, Queen Elizabeth, Margaret, and even Death herself.

De Azevedo takes on the intense role of Richard in this gripping 75-minute two-person play. Opposite him is Poppée Bashung, daughter of French music legend Alain Bashung, who delivers a captivating performance as every other character. A graduate of Cours Florent and L’École du Jeu, Bashung’s stage presence — shaped by her television roles in Mytho and Les Bracelets Rouges — brings a surreal, shape-shifting quality to the piece. Her collaboration with De Azevedo began in 2022 with Orgie, a daring adaptation of Pasolini’s work.

The set, created by scenographer Citronelle Dufay, transforms the stage into a stark, stylized metro platform, complete with a bench and symbolic trash can. Enhanced by moody lighting, ambient sound design, and a dreamlike visual aesthetic, the production moves fluidly between the real and the surreal — echoing cinematic influences like David Lynch and Luc Besson.

At its core, Richard is a haunting meditation on power, delusion, and the yearning to be seen. It speaks to our time while drawing from timeless theatrical traditions.

About Antony De Azevedo

With over 20 years in the performing arts, Antony De Azevedo is a multidisciplinary force: actor, director, adaptor, and independent producer. He trained at the Conservatoire National de Région de Bordeaux with Isabelle Renaud and later at the prestigious École Périmony in Paris under Jean Périmony.

His early career included performances under the legendary Roger Louret in classic and contemporary works, as well as cabaret productions at Les Baladins en Agenais. He has worked with directors such as Gilbert Tiberghien, Gérard David, and Xavier Viton, tackling everything from Molière to Edward Bond and contemporary café-théâtre.

In 2006, following his graduation from Cours Périmony, De Azevedo appeared in Nom de Zeus at Théâtre Pixel and toured internationally with Les 4 Vérités alongside the iconic Marthe Mercadier, performing in venues from Lyon and Marseille to Monaco and Bern.

In recent years, he has been a recurring presence in Paris and Nice comedy scenes and starred in Le Journal d’un fou by Gogol at Théâtre des Déchargeurs. His screen credits include work with prominent directors for TF1 and France 3, and he recently appeared in the France 2/Kwaï drama Filles du Feu.

De Azevedo founded Impact Productions in 2015, a company dedicated to bold theatrical innovation. Through this platform, he has directed and produced acclaimed works such as Les Fourberies de Scapin on the Beach, Le Songe d’une Nuit d’Été, Hamlet, and Orgie, the latter marking the beginning of his ongoing creative partnership with Poppée Bashung and Citronelle Dufay — now reignited for Richard.

The Alliance Française de San Francisco is honored to present this groundbreaking work that challenges conventions and redefines what Shakespeare can mean today. Don’t miss this one-night-only performance on September 18, where ambition, madness, and poetic decay collide beneath the streets of Paris. Join us underground — and witness Richard like you’ve never seen him before.