"We must adapt": with the curfew, theaters organize their survival

It is the commotion of combat in the Parisian theaters to face the new situation.

Since Wednesday, and the announcement of the establishment of a curfew at 9 p.m., attempts have been made everywhere to organize.

If some venues are closing, if shows that are canceled and will not start, will be postponed to 2021, most are trying to arrange times and dates.

We knit and tighten, around the weekend when the mornings are often doubled, sometimes tripled, we divide the week between shows when we had a double schedule, at 7 and 9 pm ...

This is the case at the Antoine theater with “Par le bout du nez”, with François Berléand and François-Xavier Demaison, and “Fleur de soleil”, with Thierry Lhermitte.

"We do and we undo, but we play," says Stéphanie Bataille with will, her director who spent part of her night on the schedule.

The first will play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 p.m., Lhermitte on Thursdays and Fridays at the same time, and the theater will continue performances on Saturdays at 2 and 4 p.m. for the duo, at 7 for the only one on stage, on Sunday it will be at 4 and 7 p.m. respectively.

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"We call everyone to postpone the places, we have to find solutions," she explains.

People have to adapt, but I think they will change their schedule, ”she adds, as if to convince herself.

“We have to be combative, it's about saving our skin, we don't have time to complain, to cry”, launches Jean-Marc Dumontet, owner of the Antoine theater and of five other rooms in Paris .

"It's unfair, but there's no point in saying it"

"We are working hard to maintain this flame which had rekindled, we suffered too much for six months when everything was stopped to lose this renewal," he continues.

And to assent: “It must be said again so that people continue to come, our rooms are safe and the protocols are strict and respected.

Obviously it's unfair, but there's no point in saying it, we have to adapt.

“At Point-Virgule, a room specializing in humor, he must thus sacrifice two out of three slots, but will share the week between all his artists.

“It breaks the dynamic, but we're going to make sure everyone stays on stage.

"

Some will choose to close, this will probably be the case at the Work where "Adieu Monsieur Haffmann" is being played.

“When you don't have a neighborhood audience, it's complicated to finish a play at 8:40 pm, says Benoît Lavigne, who co-directs the room with François-Xavier Demaison.

As for playing only on weekends, it is not economically viable with the distance, so we think to put everyone back on short-time work.

"

At the Porte Saint-Martin, it was a question of closing.

But we will test on Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m.

To see then how it takes.

At La Gaîté, “The embarrassment of choice” goes from 9 pm to 6.30 pm.

6:30 pm also for “Le Petit Coiffeur”, the new play by Jean-Philippe Daguerre at the Rive Gauche, from Thursday to Saturday, with mornings at 4 and 3 pm on Saturdays.

"It's hellish this schedule, 9 pm!"

"We're going to play five instead of six," breaths Daguerre, whose show is off to a very good start.

“We had just made six complete ones and wow!

We still hope to get a kind of pass when someone leaves the show, that there is a kind of tolerance for the ticket holders, that they are not in stress when leaving… Otherwise, they will not come. ".

And to fear the medium-term effects of this new measure.

“It will still postpone shows,” he laments.

It will condemn a lot of people in the profession who have no work.

"

“It's hellish this schedule, 9 pm!

We are very angry because it is very unfair, after all the efforts we have made to apply the sanitary protocol, Lavigne is still annoyed, also at the helm of the Lucernaire, in the 6th, a theater with multiple rooms and the abundant programming.

“We're redoing the whole schedule, but there are shows that I'm going to have to cancel,” he laments.

We're trying to make sure that we don't close, but won't all of this completely kill attendance?

".

And to continue, furious.

"We tell you that we will give you money, but since May we have had nothing," he criticizes again.

Compensation for the ticket office?

We don't know… At one point it gets very complicated.

"

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At Hébertot, Francis Lombrail said nothing else.

“I think we've just been executed,” he blurted out.

We're full with my corona gauge, but are people going to want to come?

"The theater brings the play" 12 angry men "to 6.30 pm and postpones" Le Meal des Fauves "to 2021, which was due to begin.

“We fight, but what is it hard, he breathes.

The public authorities must help us, I have an exorbitant rent that I can no longer pay, but my landlord does not want to hear anything.

I received a command to pay.

If the court finds him right, I'll go out of business.

"