Faren

Lucie and her partner Andreas drive to the south of France together, to where Lucie’s brother Max lives, who is expecting a child with his girlfriend Sophia. On the French motorway, Lucie looks back at the family holidays of their childhood and their favourite destination: Mont Ventoux. Her father wanted to climb the mountain on his bicycle and her brother decided all those years ago that he wanted to live there one day. As the kilometres tick by, more memories surface, including her parents’ divorce and the moment when Andreas came into her life.

For a long time you think Lucie and Andreas are together in the car, until it suddenly transpires that Andreas is not in the passenger seat. He died on the day that Lucie and he were to start living together. By tragic chance, he disappeared from her life from one moment to the next and now Lucie is travelling alone with her memories and grief. On the road she collides with a deer that is blinded by the powerful lights of the car. Lucie happens to meet a passer by, Hermes, who offers her a helping hand. At the same time, she receives the joyful news of new life in the form of her newborn niece.

In writing the play, Meeusen was inspired by the ancient love story of Orpheus and Eurydice. ‘Faren’ is a tale of sorrow and mourning, and of how, despite the presence of such intense emotions, you must dare to look ahead. Lucie comes out of a dark place and travels a long way to find light in her life once again.

The text reads almost like a poem, with its carefully chosen words and meticulous sentence structure. Meeusen deals sensitively with weighty subjects and the poignant lines are disarming in their effect. Using well-chosen time shifts, she sets down a credible and recognizable story and leaves us feeling hopeful for the future.