The 2024 Aurillac Street Theater Festival will have fewer visiting companies than in 2023, which was a record year. An assumed choice on the part of Eclat, which wishes to maintain “good reception conditions” and better meet the expectations of companies.
They need visibility more than ever. So this year, to receive passing companies in good conditions, Éclat has chosen to limit. The “provisional” inventory drawn up by Frédéric Remy during the press conference on Wednesday May 22 lists 668 registered companies. “We wanted to limit registrations slightly, to be able to accommodate companies in better conditions. » (Last year, Éclat had grown to 742 companies.)
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“Last year, I spoke about a difficult situation, after the Covid years, the postponements of 2022, and it is clear that the situation has gotten even worse. If we do not feel the cuts here, at Éclat, the costs continue to increase for companies. The first victims are the artists, their ecosystem.
We feel that companies are giving up.
“More and more artists or technicians are no longer working their hours to benefit from the status of intermittent performers. And the second victims of this situation which continues are the children. Our youth. This is how we see an erosion of this public cultural policy in favor of the culture that we have known for 30 years, it is a heritage, we benefit from it and ensure that the youth benefit from it as well. It’s a choice. Digital will take the place, if there is a gap.”
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These companies will present 801 shows this year, including 15% of 2024 creations. Éclat will install 25 collectives, which bring together 269 companies. Locations may vary. “We spoke with the collectives to understand the organization. Until now, there were very large collectives. Others really wanted to immerse themselves in public space, in the streets, not just in a closed space. We therefore tried to generate an evolution to find collectives on a human scale, and try to see how to promote contemporary writing. »
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Fewer capitals: a symptomatic detail
In total, 333 artistic directions are led by women, and 288 by men. The meeting of passing companies is international, with 58 foreign troops: “They come from Belgium, Italy, Spain, Chile, Slovenia, Morocco, the United States, Thailand, Germany , from Argentina, Japan, Lithuania…” It is also a local festival, with 95 companies established in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, “this figure is increasing”.
Finally, “it is a good indicator of the health of companies currently”:
Last year, we had fourteen marquees. This year, we are welcoming four. That is to say, coming to Aurillac, traveling, paying for gas, putting on shows… It’s very expensive and the companies no longer have the means to pay for this moment of visibility, which is nevertheless necessary.
Anna Modolo
