Interview with Siméon Ferlin, actor and founder of the àSelon company (FRAGILE)
Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: How did the desire to create a performance specifically addressed to young boys and their relationship to masculinity come about? Was it a personal, artistic, or pedagogical impulse?
Siméon Ferlin:
“The desire to create this show comes from a very personal journey. I was deeply affected by the first waves of #MeToo when I was 17 or 18. At that time, I began questioning patriarchy, power relations, and more broadly, my place as a man within this system.
Through discovering gender studies and feminist discourse, I became aware that these issues also concerned men. I started recognising things I had personally experienced: pressure around sexuality, expectations linked to virility, difficulty expressing emotions or managing anger. I also realised that many boys around me were going through the same issues.
I did not feel legitimate speaking on behalf of women, so I chose to address young boys directly, starting from my own experience. Middle school felt like an obvious setting, because it is a period when expectations are very strong, relationships can be harsh, and these norms of masculinity begin to take shape. The show was born from this desire to share something intimate in order to open up a broader reflection.”
Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: You chose an introspective theatrical form, far from any dogmatic discourse. How do you strike the right balance between personal narrative and collective issues?
Siméon Ferlin:
“At first, I explored several directions: documentary theatre, working from real-life events, or writing a fictional piece more removed from myself. But quite quickly, I realised that what resonated most with me was starting from my own story.
I understood that my personal journey already contained many situations illustrating these gender norms. By drawing on specific memories—such as scenes from middle school or my relationship with my twin brother—I was able to address these issues without resorting to theoretical discourse.
Telling something personal allows me to be more accurate and more accessible. At the same time, these experiences resonate with others. The intimate narrative then becomes a gateway to something collective. I think it is easier for young people to identify with a story than to receive an abstract message.”
Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: What kind of reactions do you hope to spark among teenagers? Have you already received any notable feedback from young audiences or educators?
Siméon Ferlin:
“What I hope is that young people will recognise themselves in what they see, and begin to question the norms they experience or reproduce. I would especially like young boys to release some of the pressure linked to expectations of virility, and to realise that these norms can be harmful to everyone.
I also want to give them tools to identify certain discourses, particularly those related to masculinism, which they may encounter today, especially on social media.
In the first feedback we’ve received, what struck me most was the silence. You can feel that we are touching on very sensitive subjects. Teenagers find it difficult to speak out; they are afraid of others’ judgement. This shows how present these issues are, but also how little they are discussed. That’s why the performance cannot exist without moments of discussion.”
Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: How do you approach emotions on stage, particularly those that boys are often encouraged to suppress—such as sadness, vulnerability, and fear?
Siméon Ferlin:
“This is not an easy question, because I really wanted to avoid something overly explanatory or moralizing. So we chose not to talk about these emotions directly, but to make them felt on stage.
When an emotion is too strong to be expressed in words, it comes through the body—through movement, mime, and sometimes even dance. We show characters experiencing these emotions without necessarily having the words to express them.
This makes visible what is usually hidden. You can see the inner struggle, the difficulty of accepting these emotions, and sometimes even the violence one inflicts on oneself to repress them. I think that embodying them, rather than explaining them, allows the audience to truly feel them.”
Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: Alongside the performance, you offer a mediation program. What role does this component play in the project?
Siméon Ferlin:
“The mediation aspect is central to the project. I even think the performance truly works only if it is part of a broader process.
We designed three stages: preparatory work with the students beforehand, the performance itself, and then a discussion session afterward. Beforehand, we already start asking questions and opening up lines of thought. Afterward, we revisit scenes, discuss them, and try to encourage people to speak.
These topics are too sensitive to simply be presented and then left as they are. They need support, a framework, and tools so that young people can express themselves. The idea is really for the performance to become a starting point for a wider reflection.”
Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: Do you think schools could play a more active role in deconstructing traditional models of masculinity? How can your play contribute to this?
Siméon Ferlin:
“I believe schools have a crucial role to play, because they are places where these norms are strongly constructed and reproduced. It is where we experience these pressures most intensely, and yet it is also a place where they are rarely discussed.
In my own experience, I almost never had a space to talk about these issues, even though they are omnipresent in relationships between students.
I think there is currently a lack of resources and tools for teachers, who are often themselves eager to address these topics. What I observe is that the performance meets a real need: it opens up discussions that do not always find their place in the classroom.
At my level, with this piece, I try to provide a medium to approach these subjects differently—through emotion, storytelling, and dialogue. It is a way of contributing, modestly, to this necessary reflection.”