Theater: "Every second seat is a bit ridiculous when there is a mask"

Not even afraid. Stanislas Nordey, director of the Théâtre National de Strasbourg (TNS), is continuing its comeback with twenty major new productions. "We would prefer to play without distancing and masked, but we will follow the law," he warns.

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More reserved, Stéphane Braunschweig waits September 1 to open reservations for the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe. Like all cinema directors in France, they await government instructions.
Some directors of subsidized theaters will meet Roselyne Bachelot at the beginning of September and have already planned to meet in ten days "to discuss a united and common conduct" , summarizes Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota at the head of the City theater and eager to boost "confidence with the public ” .
All agree with Loïc Bonnet, the president of the association of private theaters in the region, who calls for the use of gauges at “100%”, ie the cancellation of one in two empty seats. Wearing a mask compulsory for the public of course. “One in two seats is a bit ridiculous when there is a mask,” observes Francis Nani, the owner of the Michel and Palais Royal theaters.
"Roselyne Bachelot wants to save the performing arts" , assures Bertrand Thamin, at the head of the SNTP, National Syndicate of Private Theater which is living the crisis head-on. The one who also directs the Montparnasse theater expects “good news” the week to come as well as a collective reflection on the viability of the shows.

“We cannot afford to fall into other abysmal losses. We have been closed for twenty weeks, it would take as much to make up for what we lost. "

"We do not have the means to close until January, we plan to open between September 15 and October 15," he adds. At the Comédie Française, which is relocating to Marigny because of the works, sales are suspended "until further notice." . "We must not believe that people will rush, it will not be complete immediately," anticipates Francis Nani. "By opening in September, there will be no more than 500 spectators out of 1200, it would be a financial disaster" , warns Daniel Benoin at the head of Anthéa in Antibes (06). Stéphane Hillel, president of the ASTP (Association for the Support of Private Theater), also director of the Théâtre de Paris, agrees: “We cannot afford to fall into other abysmal losses. We have been closed for twenty weeks, it would take as much to make up for what we lost. ”

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This is the reason why, after much procrastination, Daniel Benoin finally decided to start his season on November 3 instead of September. "After 38 years as a theater director, I have never had such doubts ," says the manager who can count on 10,500 subscribers against 13,500 last year. "From March to the end of June, I reimbursed 60,000 tickets, 20% of spectators asked not to be, but we do not see how in the current situation we could resist."

Daniel Benoin had invited the Théâtre de la Ville de Paris to play State of Siege, but the play includes 25 actors and the risk is substantial. Ditto for The Jungle Book by Robert Wilson. "I prefer to stick to my initial decision which allows us to hope that there will be no more social distancing on November 3."
"The challenge of this new school year is to reassure the public about the reception conditions," stresses Stéphane Braunschweig. Playing with a gauge that is 50% full on the budget plan is catastrophic, but we are subsidized, it would be desirable that we play beyond 70%. ”

The director will show his latest creation, Iphigénie de Racine at Ateliers Berthier, which lends itself to a bi-frontal arrangement (from September 23 to November 14). The play will be performed alternately by 16 actors. "I doubled the roles in case a comedian fell ill," he says.
Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota is one of the few subsidized institutions to have opened in the summer. At Espace Cardin due to renovations. Since June 22, it has offered seven shows, including new ones. In April, he had founded a united working group with doctors from the Salpétrière and the City of Paris to be able to move forward. "The turnover in the subsidized has fallen by 70%, we have lost about 50%, we have to count the cancellation of tours" , he indicates. This will not prevent him from "making" his comeback: on September 8, he will resume the Witches of Salem arrested in March in the great hall of the Espace Cardin. And will produce Qui a morte mon père, a creation by Thomas Ostermeier at the Théâtre des Abbesses (September 9).
"We cannot work alone, the virus is a collective problem" , repeats Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota. Committed, he did not wait for solutions from the government, he found some and is still looking for more. In fact, this Saturday, in partnership with the Avignon festival off, the City of Paris, the SACD and the Sacem, the Théâtre de la Ville will offer eight shows (theater, music, etc.), free and in the open air , two of which are intended for young audiences. In addition, two places have been set up near the Espace Cardin to host several shows "with several actors to defend employment" , he points out.
Cautious, many directors of private rooms preferred to postpone the creations to the end of the year, or even to the first quarter of 2021.

For the start of the school year, they are counting above all on confirmed successes, mainly only on stage and popular duets. "It would be suicidal to do otherwise, to flip a coin, then to be forced to close, the logic is to offer a second chance to some who started before confinement," said Bertrand Thamin. The theaters of the Atelier and the Montparnasse pocket nevertheless intend to take up the challenge: the first will give Crise de nerves, three pranks by Chekhov with Jacques Weber (September 22). The second will be illustrated with the creation of Mademoiselle Else de Schnitzler
(September 1).

Gérard Depardieu, François Berléand, François-Xavier Demaison, Richard Berry, Thierry Lhermitte ...

"I called on my friends" , indicates Daniel Benoin who will reopen with Gérard Depardieu singing Barbara. For her part, Stéphanie Bataille plans to seduce the public with Par le bout du nez, played by François Berléand and François-Xavier Demaison (September 22), then Plaidoiries with Richard Berry (September 24). And will find Thierry Lhermitte whose Fleur de soleil was stopped dead by the coronavirus (Oct 8). Since August 5, with the merry Assume bordel !, Pierre Palmade and Benjamin Gauthier have fulfilled the marsh theater by respecting the sanitary conditions (50 people instead of 90). For 100 unnumbered places, the performance is “bearable” according to Stéphane Hillel.

"There is the idea that confined places promote the virus, it does not push to come, no insurance covers the covid",

But the situation is complicated with theaters of 500, 600, 800 or more and numbered seats. “Internet does not know social distancing, alleges the president of the ASTP by specifying that the works councils cannot be considered as members of the same group. "There is the idea that confined places promote the virus, it does not push to come, no insurance covers the covid" , he adds.

Sometimes bridges are built between private and public. Last year, Jean Robert-Charrier, director of the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, had pleasantly surprised by programming Ça ira, fin de Louis , by Joël Pommerat, which was premiered in Mons in Belgium in 2015, then played on subsidized French stages. In 2013, the revival at the Odéon de Fin de partie , by Beckett, directed by Alain Françon, which had been premiered at the Théâtre de la Madeleine, had also made an impression.

The actors are motivated: "It is absolutely necessary to find a serene dialogue between the public and the private sector, to find new solutions and to work together, everyone would benefit from it" , advances Daniel Benoin, the director of the Anthéa theater in Antibes who knows well both. An opinion shared by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota who sees this as a solution to help the world of theater. "We must be united" , he repeats.