The 41st edition of Zébrures d’Automne, a festival of French-speaking theater creation, will take place in Limoges and its region from Wednesday, September 25 to Saturday, October 5, 2024. Within a pre-established range, it is the spectator who will choose the price of his seat. The director explains why.
Les Zébrures d’Automne is a festival of French-speaking theatre creation, with forays into dance and music. It invites artists and other cultural actors from all four corners of the French-speaking world. In this space composed of countries such as Quebec, Switzerland, France, African countries, the Caribbean, etc., French is practiced, as a legacy of History or through Francophilia.
Limoges and its region: a major global French-speaking meeting point
In 40 years, thanks to its Zébrures d’Automne, Limoges and its region have become a major meeting point in the French-speaking world. Artists and other personalities from a diversity of cultures also bring with them a diversity of global issues.
The Zébrures d’Automne are supported by “Les Francophonies, des écritures à la scène”, a structure established in Limoges. While having this local anchoring, they therefore have a national and international aura.
Their director, Hassane Kassi Kouyaté, discusses their future and explains the decision on a free price.
How do you see the next decade for Les Zébrures d’Automne?
I will begin by discussing the fundamentals of this festival.
The whole world comes to Limoges to create new hopes in terms of creation but also of opening minds and opening hearts.
I would like to reaffirm this in these terms.
We therefore hope that this festival remains a place for exchanges, discussions, questions and experiments. Everyone brings their wealth to nourish each other.
Limoges is also the only place for French-speaking theatrical creation
All year round, with its Maison des Auteurs et des Autrices, it is a centre of intense literary activities. This House welcomes playwrights from all over the world in writing residencies. Les Zébrures de Printemps, a specifically literary festival, offers a showcase for French-speaking authors and their texts, in connection with what the Zébrures d’Automne then offers.
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The primary financier of this national and international festival is the State. In the current economic context, how do you see the future from this point of view?
The State is indeed the first of our supervisory bodies, which also includes the regional council, the departmental council, the municipality with the contribution of various services. During our last board of directors in June, all the supervisory bodies were keen to affirm their desire to maintain their commitment to the structure and to the French-speaking world.
Something very encouraging also happened. The Limoges Métropoles Urban Community wanted to join the Board of Directors, as did Fabienne Louard, Secretary General of the National Stages in France. Our Board of Directors is therefore opening up, which creates potential for new partnerships. It is very interesting.
However, in terms of financing, our guardians cannot totally follow their desires. There is what we want and there is what we can. There is inflation, changes in behavior.
However, the sustainability and development of our work cannot be achieved without political will at national and local level.
Our project and the positioning of our structure must be followed by real support at the level of thought and at the level of French-speaking creation in general in France and theatrical creation in particular. In addition:
The support of our guardians must take into account the realities of creation and production in all its aspects, particularly financial. Without this, we will be on artificial respiration. We will be in a survival project and not in a life project.
For each show of the 41st edition, there are two performances, against three previously. Why?
With the disappearance of the Expression7 hall, there are fewer places today in Limoges. It is more complicated to articulate. In addition, we offer a creation festival. The shows are made here, with the artists who occupy the theaters in residence.
The spectator will choose the price of his seat. Why this decision?
Subsidized, our structure has a public service mission. Our duty is to make the festival already financed by taxes accessible.
We propose a discovery festival, with creations, in other words shows that no one has ever seen since they are born here. So it is a way of sharing responsibility and risk-taking around these shows.
The idea came from observations made by people at the box office. In meetings, they explained that they often felt the public was reluctant to commit financially to shows about which they knew nothing a priori.
Our goal is that those who attend 10 days of the festival come out of it different, having made all the discoveries they want. Money should not be a hindrance.
Isn’t this financially risky for the festival?
I would like to point out that our board of directors enthusiastically supported this idea.
It is true that this experiment has already been carried out elsewhere with good results, notably in Belgium or in France in certain theatres, as explained by the specialist newspaper La Scène.
It has been observed that the free price increases attendance, diversifies the public, encourages reservations before the event without ultimately harming revenue.
I experienced it myself in Avignon, when I was co-director of the Galante theatre. We opted for the free price and our theatre was the one that made the most money at the Off festival. We forget too much that those who have more often also give more.
For the moment, at the festival ticketing level, we see that these observations tend to be confirmed.
What is the price range offered to the viewer?
5, 10, 15 and 20 euros. This is an indication to help him make his choice.
Launch and first highlights
Emmanuel Kherad, who created the show La Librairie Francophone on France Inter, will be the guest of a joint meeting with Hassane Kassi Kouyaté
The 41st Autumn Zebras will be launched with a participatory show in Limoges:
First Shows
Abidjan-Limoges, the shortest route (Limoges-Ivory Coast)
Under the direction of Ivorian choreographer Massidi Adiatou, fifty amateur dancers from the region present this show, strolling between the Place de la Motte and Place de la République.
Wednesday September 25, departure from Place de la Motte 5:30 p.m.; free
We go down to Princess Street (Ivory Coast)
Massidi Adiatou creates this great show of Afro-urban and contemporary dance;
Limoges Opera, Wednesday September 25 and Friday September 27 at 8:30 p.m.
Suddenly the stone (Belgium)
Theatre, with text and staging by Geneviève Koops, inspired by The Postman Cheval,
Thursday September 26 at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday September 28 at 3 p.m., Limoges Jean-Gagnant cultural center.
Open Heart (Cameroon)
Theatrical creation, text and staging Éric Delphin Kwégoué
CDN-Union Theatre, Friday September 27 at 6 p.m., Saturday September 28 at 8:30 p.m.
Bonus: stories, creations for young audiences, regional shows in Feytiat, Uzerche, etc.
Meetings and debates
Times for discussion are also planned, under the Berber tent, at the Maison des Francophonies, 11 boulevard Charles-de-Gaulle.
Cross-meetings:
– Massidi Adiatou and Geneviève Koops, hosted by Olivier Frégaville-Gratiend’Amore, journalist from L’Œil d’Olivier (Thursday, September 26, 11:30 a.m.)
– Emmanuel Kherad, creator of the Librairie Francophone on France Inter, and Hassane Kassi Kouyaté, hosted by Olivier Chapperon, editor-in-chief of Populaire du Centre, (Saturday, September 28, 11:30 a.m.)
– The poet-playwrights Gaëlle Bien-Aimé and Kouam Tawa, hosted by Muriel Mingau, (Thursday, October 3, 11:30 a.m.)
– Antony Tibault and Mathieu Girard, hosted by a journalist from Cult.new, Friday October 4, 11:30 a.m.
Stage edges
These are meeting times organized the day after the shows. They allow for discussions with the artists about their creations.
The full program on lesfrancophonies.fr
Muriel Mingau
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