Arthur Laurent, the stage as playground

Tucked away in Paris's chic 5th arrondissement, a grand hôtel particulier is home to the immersive show "Jules Verne, le voyage extraordinaire". On this Wednesday afternoon in June, groups of children don blue capes to embark on this journey through time. In the first room, spectators meet a rather elderly Jules Verne, who looks back on the many books he wrote. But there's no question of dwelling on the subject. The audience begins their epic journey in another room, set in a 19th-century printing press. While the famous publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel raves about the miracles of technological progress, Arthur Laurent waits outside, his ear to the door in search of a sound signal. The actor takes the opportunity to rehearse his acting instructions: to play a dynamic, smiling Jules Verne. "If when people leave, they say: 'That was great, it made me want to read it', then it's all good," sums up the Saint-Barth native. Full of freshness, the actor enters the print shop with stars in his eyes. Jules Verne was still a young writer, and publisher Hetzel loved his early work. He urged his protégé to come up with new stories as quickly as possible, to capitalize on his growing success. With his notebook in hand, Jules Verne turned to the audience: "Follow me, we've got to go and see the photographer Nardal, before we meet up with Hetzel. "With smiles on their faces, the children follow the interpreter from room to room, bringing Jules Verne's extraordinary stories to life.

A demanding show
A few weeks earlier, Arthur knew little about the life of this illustrious writer. The student at the Conservatoire du Centre de Paris responded online to a casting ad for the show. Two days later, he was offered an audition. As usual, Arthur gave it his all, trying to learn the text by heart, but there wasn't enough time: "The audition was dramatic, I'd learned the text the day before and didn't know the concept at all. "This immersive show is based on meticulous staging, where the actors' lines have to match the soundtrack to the second. Selected for the role, Arthur has just one week to immerse himself in the role, as he replaces an actor who left the adventure at the last minute. There was no time to study the personality of Jules Verne, or to read his books: "As I had little time to assimilate everything, I didn't try to stick to the character of Jules Verne at all costs, but rather to adapt him a little to myself, to make it more real. "Over the course of the performances, the staging evolved to meet the audience's expectations. "Initially, they wanted a young Jules Verne, but also distinguished, very noble in speech, like in 1800," explains Arthur. But after two shows, we told them that children needed something more accessible. "Presented as a play dedicated to a young audience, the show charms adults just as well. A lot of grandparents come to see us and thank us," smiles the 25-year-old actor. They tell us it's taken them back to their childhood reading. "

Finding his way
During his childhood in Saint-Barth, Arthur tried to read a book by Jules Verne: "Around the world in 80 days". But he never got more than halfway through the book. Theater isn't one of his hobbies either. The teenager is more into the oval ball, and will even join a rugby section at his high school in Bordeaux. The atmosphere is pleasant in the changing rooms and in the classroom, so why not apply to the Pôle Espoir? A member of his host family put an end to his daydreams: "He just said to me, you're too small and too skinny. "With no specific goals for the future, the high school student quickly moved on to other things. His mother encouraged him to enroll in theater to fit in. "I really liked it, but I saw it more as a hobby," says Arthur. A good student without trying too hard, Arthur followed his teachers' recommendations and embarked on the "royal road": the literary prep school. From the very first day, he realized that he was not in his element. It was pretty amazing, because I really didn't do well," says the actor. I'd see all the other students spending their evenings working, while I was off playing soccer with friends. "The only exercise that got him through with flying colors was the khôlles (an oral test). Arthur prefers to talk and exchange ideas, rather than work alone on a paper for six hours. But that wasn't enough to secure him a place in the second year. Arthur left the preparatory program and entered a law degree program at university. "It was just as catastrophic," he laughs. The more time passed, the less the student felt in phase with his course. After a while, I'd get up with a lump in my stomach," he confides. One day, I took the streetcar and instead of going to college, I went to Fnac and read manga all day. "

"Going to play theater in Saint-Barth, that would be really great"
Covid interrupts classes and forces Arthur to question his future. After many discussions with those closest to him, the student realized one thing: "In my schooling, I think the only thing I liked was when I did theater. "The decision is made, and all that remains now is to announce it to his parents during a video call. His mother bursts out laughing, thinking it's a joke. His father, more pragmatic, asks him: "Are you ready to give it a go? "Arthur replies in the affirmative. His parents supported him as he trained at the Cours Florent, then at the Conservatoire du Centre in Paris. During this second course, he met another student, Marina, who hired him to act in a play she had written. Arthur has a huge range," says the director. He's very dynamic, he's a very good clown, but he also has the ability to have a very deep inner game. "The collaboration between the four actors on this play went so well that they decided to create their own company called "À ciel fermé". The artists put together projects together and then tried to pitch them to theaters. "We've landed a contract to perform our play "Diagnostik" in a small theater in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, starting in December," says the performer. Faced with the administrative headaches of the artistic world, Arthur dreams of getting more funding to put on "ambitious shows, with proposals that are really very personal". And why not tour overseas, with a stopover in Saint-Barth. "Going to play in a theater in Saint-Barth, that would be really great," says the actor. But Arthur is patient. Before taking any steps, the artist is keen to put together a solid project, so that his parents, like the people of Saint-Barth, will be proud of him.