At 88, Marcel and Catherine still play with puppets in their mill in Orne

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“You have to be a little crazy to live with puppets, but that’s what we are.”

The entrance gate to Marcel and Catherine Violette’s home is located at the end of Rue du Moulin, right in the centre of Écouché. It will be open to visitors for the European Heritage Days Saturday 21 And Sunday September 22, 2024.

The visit is enhanced by the presence of sculptor Denis Giry who will exhibit his works and give a live demonstration of his art.

An old “puppet shop”

After crossing the threshold, the visitor may in turn believe himself to be suffering from madness or hallucinations. 6 meter high bathernamed Nanois posted at the entrance to the courtyard as a welcoming host.

Further on, next to the wheel, a vestige of the flour mill which produced up to 120 hectolitres of flour per day, the costume from uncle IsidoreMarcel Violette’s flagship puppet, awakens memories of the millers.

The couple of designers have been living in this mill since 1977. “We left Paris because we needed space to create sets to give turnkey to directors and producers,” reveal Marcel and Catherine, 88 years old.

The couple worked in the 1970s and 1980s with theatre troupes, but also for cinema, television and ballets.

We called our workshop the puppetry in reference to the flour mill that worked there before us.

Automatons at the windows

When it came time to buy this piece of heritage that had fallen into ruin, the artists decided to renovate it. “It pleased the local craftsmen,” smiles Marcel.

We quickly carried out work to be able to work and earn money, which we used directly in the renovation of the mill.

At the end of this dead end, seven people worked to create scenographies. “Each floor had its specialty like costumes, masks, etc.”, he adds.

To remember the time when they were chaining projects between the show Journey to the land of puppetsbroadcast on FR 3 and the plays with Dominique Houdart and Jeanne Heuclin, the couple from Paris offer a tour of the places through a theme each year.

Among the bric-a-brac contained in their mill, the Violettes decided this year to highlight their automatons.

Playing the character of Uncle Isidore

“They will be presented at the windows,” says Marcel Violette. He will take on the role of guide in this garden.

“I play the role of Uncle Isidore to tell nonsense,” says Marcel, with a joking air. “Except to talk about the history of the mill. Heritage is a serious matter,” he corrects.

In a story between humor and history, Marcel Violette will initially try to welcome classes from the Écouché school on Friday, before making the public laugh the rest of the weekend.

He will tell the legend of the miller’s ghost, or that of the madwoman of the mill, while automatons will lean out of the windows to surprise the children.

30 years of wanderings

With a passion for the art of entertainment, the owners take great pleasure in imagining the visit. The mill was built in 1066, before passing from owner to owner. “Before our acquisition in 1977, the mill experienced 30 years of wandering, where children came to have fun and adults to play grown-up games,” the duo imagines.

“People didn’t dare come here because the place was abandoned. When we arrived, we had trouble fitting in. The locals wondered about the presence of artists. Parisians no less. It doesn’t go down well in the countryside.”

In 2024, pleasure is still the primary driver for retirees. “I have never had the feeling of working in my life,” philosophizes Marcel Violette for whom madness is perhaps the best way to live happily.

Visit open to the general public, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free. 38 rue du moulin in Écouché.

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