It should be one of the events of the Avignon summer. Without such a setback, Tiago Rodrigues would no doubt have done well in his first year at the helm of the festival. After several days of uncertainty, during which the festival management tried everything to make the performances possible emigrants The verdict was scheduled for July 14 and fell on Wednesday June 7. The great theatrical fresco conceived by Krystian Lupa based on the work of the same name by WG Sebald will not come to Avignon. THE “Production conditions (calendar, financial and logistical constraints and dead ends)” It is not possible for the festival to organize the last days of rehearsals and the creation of the show.
Extremely rare in the theater world, the Polish director’s play was canceled on June 2, barely a week before its premiere at the Comédie de Genève, the main co-producer of the show with the Festival d’Avignon and the Odéon. theatre. from Europe. Natacha Koutchoumov and Denis Maillefer, the directors of the Comédie de Genève, co-justified their decision “disregard for values” Theater by Krystian Lupa. “These values are reflected in the staff regulations, a charter of conduct and the contracts signed with each artistic team.”Said.
protect employees
In question: the behavior of the 79-year-old director, supported by his actors, who wanted to play the play despite everything, towards the theater technicians. Krystian Lupa confirmed “incidents” and apologized. In an interview with moons however, on June 7, he condemned the “force” Swiss teams in terms of their management to achieve the withdrawal of the show.
“It’s not a whim of the technicians”assured Natacha Koutchoumov on June 6 on Swiss television, referring to situations “thorny”. “It’s an experienced team, used to the atypical personalities of artists.”before I remember: “As a cultural institution, we have duties, duties towards our employees.We must protect them. » A real thunderclap, this decision, the “Pier” “That a theater can endure,” regrets Natacha Koutchoumov, raising deep questions about it “artistic genius” and overflow tolerance in the name of creation.
A reflection that the live performance obviously has to take up given the controversies that shake it these days. Meanwhile, the future of emigrants remains unclear. Will the piece ever see the light of day? At least that’s what Tiago Rodrigues hopes in his press release: “We hope that this important work – which the festival has supported with all its commitment – can be presented in January 2024 at the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, which is examining all the solutions so that the creation can be translated into a peaceful Vicinity. »
