Known for his sense of dramaturgy, the excess of his staging and his defense of a “heightened theatricality”this creator wants to offer the public the “Greatest show in the world” July 26.
“The closer it gets, the happier I am”: Thomas Jolly, the artistic mastermind of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (OPG) ceremonies, is a theatre man with a boundless imagination, which he had to adapt to the restrictive environment of the Olympic Games.
Known for his sense of dramaturgy, the excess of his staging and his defense of a “exaggerated theatricality”this creator, whom many describe as “gifted”, moves to a higher dimension. He is preparing to make the City of Lights and its emblematic monuments around the Seine his playground, to offer the public the “greatest show on earth” on July 26.
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Will he use his white neon lights, red lasers and beam projectors in the “Star Wars”like in the rock opera “Starmania” which he successfully adapted and revamped in 2022? Will he use a scenography and gothic costumes recalling his vision of “Romeo and Juliet” or “Macbeth” ? After his 18-hour staging for the trilogy of“Henry VI” Shakespeare, who made him known in Avignon (south of France) in 2014, are the 3 hours 45 minutes of the opening Olympic spectacle a major challenge?
As D-Day approaches, the 42-year-old artist, a defender of troupe theatre, popular and enthusiastic since its beginnings in 2006, told AFP: “can’t wait to finally be able to share” this “extraordinary adventure”, for which he has worked, in the greatest secrecy, for 18 months. Appointed artistic director of the ceremonies in December 2022, the director, who created his company La Piccola Familia (6 actors) after his studies at the university and at the acting school of the Théâtre national de Bretagne, reveals nothing but said to himself “excited to see what comes out of dance rehearsals, costume and production workshops” decorations.
Black cap, denim jacket, this slim, dark-haired man with a mischievous smile – which sometimes earns him the friendly nickname of “farfadet” –, initially saw things on a grand scale for this ceremony, before abandoning several of his ideas.
“Everything is connected”
It was an unbridled interview with the newspaper L’Équipe, while he was the head of the Angers National Drama Center, which propelled him to the forefront of the Olympic scene. Asked like two other artists what this ceremony could be, he evokes an arrival of athletes in tanks which would transform into amphibious cars, Catherine Deneuve as Olympe de Gouges – considered one of the pioneers of French feminism – or even the PNL group singing “The Hymn to Love”.
He will not retain these avenues and will have to give up other scenarios envisaged in his early days as artistic director, for example the idea of an upside-down Eiffel Tower as a basin, aquatic ballets in the Seine, or the presence of the duo Daft Punk, separated since 2021. Also abandoned are the decorated barges carrying artists, due to lack of sufficient height under the bridges of Paris. Once embarked in this “extraordinary adventure”his first work consisted of surrounding himself with authors to imagine “a great story” from the setting in the heart of Paris – the river and its monuments – which was offered to him, his objective being to create 12 artistic tableaux along the six-kilometre route.
Au final, “I did not sacrifice my project”, defends Thomas Jolly. All is “in line with my initial idea”adds this Rouen native (northern France), son of a printer father and a nurse mother. His show, rehearsals for which took place in the spring in giant hangars in the Ile-de-France region, therefore incorporates the strong security constraints and those linked to the natural and cultural environment of the river and its surroundings. There is no doubt that on July 26, at 7:30 p.m., Thomas Jolly will be in all the spotlights. In any case, he pleads for the most beautiful lighting possible, that of the sun, and implores the star. “Obviously the weather is going to be nice.”he convinces himself, smiling.
