The uncertainty weighs once again on the morale of the culture.
The government, which was hoping for a drop to 5,000 Covid-19 cases to reopen theaters from December 15, sees its indicators in red and this does not bode well.
While waiting for the new decisions announced this Thursday, Daniel Benoin, director of the Anthéa d'Antibes theater - the largest in France after the Comédie-Française - fears the worst.
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“Until Monday, I believed in it. The only questions I asked myself concerned the return to school on December 15, ”
he said Tuesday in the columns of Nice-Matin.
“Since then I've been a little tense because I have the impression that the ground is being prepared for us to tell us that we will not reopen.
And that makes my heart very, very painful.
"
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Like many of his colleagues, he too has organized himself to be able to offer a program at the start of this second phase of relief.
The comedian Monsieur Fraize is scheduled to take the stage at the Anthéa theater on the evening of December 15, while the show
L'Avare
, of which he is the director, is to begin on December 18 at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris.
“We are in the starting blocks,
continues Daniel Benoin.
But if we still have to start all over again, I admit that it's a little hopeless
”.
Far from him the idea of contesting the seriousness of the medical situation.
But he implores her: “
We need a clear roadmap to anticipate things.
Curfew or not, confinement or not…
”
Programming for January
If he remains hopeful, a question, which has unfortunately become familiar, torments him.
If not in December, when can he finally raise the curtain?
Many shows have already been postponed to June 2021, such as
Les Élucubrations d'un homme suddent struck by the grace
of Édouard Baer.
But the Anthéa theater had bet on a new program for January, counting in particular on the presence of Gaspard Proust (
New show
), Clémentine Célarié (
Une vie
) or Pierre Richard (
Monsieur X
).
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The emotional roller coaster
": the world of culture awaits its deconfinement
Will we still have to deprogram and reprogram these headliners?
As Daniel Benoin explains, this imbroglio requires great organization.
“You have to contact subscribers and viewers.
Settle each situation by postponing or reimbursing. "
Since confinement, Daniel Benoin has even hired a team of twelve people dedicated to this kind of problem.
As if he had already got used to the idea of staying closed for a long time, the manager of the establishment is at least betting on a brighter horizon for the 2021/2022 season.
“
Since things are all shifted, they will eventually follow one another,
he consoles himself
.
I have three operas to put on, and two shows on tour.
"
