3 days of festival, 32 companies, 66 performances, 50,000 people expected, 150 agents mobilized… After a record attendance in 2023, the 27e edition of the Années Joué de Joué-lès-Tours hopes to once again panic the counters in 2024. Scheduled from May 31 to June 2 at Parc de la Rabière, the event has just revealed its program.
“This year we are returning to the big strolls” announces Olivier Catin. The historic programmer of the Années Joué plans to once again impress his world with the highlights scheduled for Friday May 31 and Saturday May 1er June. In both cases, these will be shows which will end at Nelson Mandela Square but which will start upstream, and therefore which will have to be followed on foot. The performance which promises to be particularly breathtaking will be that of the CPPP Gardois expected with their 18m white whale, which will require no less than 48 hours of assembly from Thursday May 30 in the Temps Machine car park.
The day before, it is the Drômois of the Cie Danka who should also cause a sensation with a parade of giant puppets, “a mobile and luminous piece of machinery, a luminous street fresco in motion” argues the presentation of Setbacks, “a somewhat dreamlike universe, in the spirit ofAlice in Wonderland » completes Olivier Catin.
The program of the largest street art festival in the Centre-Val de Loire region also includes a large Bird Ball which will invite the public to dress in feathers for three hours on Friday and Saturday evening, or to put on a bathrobe to stroll in a small group with a company leaving the media library. Unusual experiences, therefore, orchestrated around the Parc de la Rabière, a timeless base camp of the Années Joué but not yet fully exploited since a new place will be explored during this 2024 edition, on the other side of the stream and of the pond. It is the company Après l’Orage which will settle there.
Even if there is a bit of walking, the Jocondian festival is intended to be 100% family-friendly, therefore entirely accessible with strollers. Above all, this year, he wants to push his bucolic aspect with the theme “Oh! Natural” which appears on the poster. Two companies will climb trees, another will focus on our relationship with meat, in addition to the highlight of Saturday which will inevitably echo endangered species with its giant white whale.
We will also have the story of a monkey who escapes, a spectacle which will echo the recovered materials… “Obviously when we work on this theme, we look at the eco-responsible side of the companies’ work” slip Olivier Catin and the deputy mayor in charge of culture, Caroline Chalopin. This involves, for example, the invitation of companies which include Joué-lès-Tours as part of a tour in the Great West rather than a simple round trip from very far away. Out of 32 companies, 11 are from the region, 2 are foreign (one comes from Switzerland, the other from Spain).
Thinking about the environment, on an event bringing together 50,000 people, also means trying to increasingly reduce waste. For example by deleting almost all the booklets with the program to favor the use of the Années Joué mobile application which notifies you before the start of the shows that you have spotted. It is also an even greater awareness of the 39 food trucks and catering stands to respect the legislation regarding disposable tableware.
The festival’s challenge is also to cope with inflation while maintaining a constant budget. The number of invited companies and performances remains comparable to previous years despite the continued increase in the cost of shows. “We may be looking at less expensive performances” underline the organizers, who nevertheless do not want to deviate from the quality or the grandiose aspect of the highlights, the Touraine meeting now being recognized on national and even international agendas.
Joué-lès-Tours, which wants to assert itself as a hotbed of street creations with the renewal of the Nouvelle Vague support system which helps 5 companies to deploy their first street show, either because they have just been created , or because they want to try to move from the room to the outside world. They will benefit from a one-week residency, two days of training and meetings with professionals to secure potential programming.
The Années Joué, a globally pioneering blossoming festival. It will also host what will only be the 3e representation of a highly anticipated production: Check-off by Adhok Saturday at 9:45 p.m. “which always produces quite dynamic shows that are pleasant to watch” predicts Olivier Catin. A beautiful promise among others that we will make you experience like every year on video because 37 degrees is once again a partner of the weekend.
