The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The cheerful and baroque facade of the Italian Comedy soon castrated by a facelift

2021-12-05T08:22:13.751Z


HERITAGE - The first floor of the small Parisian theater should soon be repainted in harmony with the rest of its building. A new blow for a troop which accumulates difficulties.


Harlequin looks grim on the lively sidewalk of the rue de la Gaîté. The merry joker of the 14th arrondissement of Paris is less saddened by the autumn rain than by the future of gold and azure painting which has for years given its baroque charm to the theater of the Italian Comedy. The colorful facade should soon shed some of its tinsel. Not to change tones and ornaments, as this charming Parisian address once used to, but to restore the first floor of the building to its dismal state of origin. The enchanting blues which frame the last landmark of the

commedia dell'arte

in France would then be reduced to the simple ground floor of the theater.

"Like a common pizzeria"

, indignant Attilio Maggiulli, artistic director and director of the Italian Comedy.

To read also: Drama at the Italian Comedy: Dieudonné, candidate for the takeover of this historic hall

At the source of this new threat hanging over the building: a banal facelift. That of 19, rue de la Gaîté, which corresponds to the entrance to the theater as well as a storage space located on the first floor, behind two windows covered with a tarpaulin in the colors of the pastel pediment.

“The ground floor remains unchanged; on the other hand, the 1st floor of the facade will regain its original state ”,

indicates a letter of November 3 - which

Le Figaro

was able to consult - addressed by the syndic Nexity to Attilio Maggiulli.

"The condemned 1st floor windows will be reopened"

, while its colors will take up the milky tone of the building,

"in harmony with the rest of the floors"

. As many points aimed at correcting work

"Carried out without prior authorization"

, specifies Nexity. And which could eventually lead to an outright expulsion, without compensation, of the troop, alarms the artistic director of the theater.

A situation which provokes the disbelief of Attilio Maggiulli, almost 50 years after the foundation, with the actress Hélène Lestrade, of the theatrical company dedicated to the

commedia dell'arte. "It's ridiculous !"

, vigorously denounces the man of the theater.

“We won an out-of-category prize for the most beautiful boutique facade in Paris, in 1995. The allure of the Italian Comedy is part of the heritage of the rue de la Gaîté.”

His memory in his hand, proudly framed, the director ensures that at the time of his attribution, the mayor of Paris Jacques Chirac, on the verge of being elected to the presidency of the Republic, had promised him the classification to the historical monuments of the facade.

Hooks, aquilines or crooks, the noses of the troupe's masks helplessly witness the pangs in which the Italian Comedy is struggling. The theater had to part with some of its costumes to stay afloat. Simon Cherner / Le Figaro

This politeness has never been effective, as the Nexity manager did not fail to point out in his letter:

“After research

(for a possible classification of the facade, Editor's note)

with town planning by the architect, this is not the case and the architects of the City of Paris have given their agreement to a return to the original state. ”

An approach confirmed by the Town Hall, which did not wish to comment on the file, apart from a simple reminder of the usual procedure.

“The architects of buildings in France (ABF) gave indications as to the nature of the materials used for the renovation. We followed the opinions and recommendations of the ABF "

,

the City of Paris replied laconically to

Figaro

.

See also "Merlin" the musical show at the Folies Bergère

The soul of rue de la Gaîté

A cold shower, for the Italian Comedy. Installed in 1980 in the small police station at 17, rue de la Gaîté, where Modigliani and Picasso once sobered up, the institution extended to 19 in 1993, a time from which the theater took its current form thanks to the takeover of a former sex shop.

“The building had lost its value before our arrival

,” recalls Attilio Maggiulli.

When we proposed to buy out the lease of the sex shop in 1991, the inhabitants were in heaven. We increased the market value of the site, and it was around this time that we united the facade. It had to be said that the previous sign and its trinkets for women had been replaced by a theater!It was no problem for anyone then. ”

Supposed to start on November 15, the renovation work has still not been started.

Portable toilets and scaffolding at arm's length, the only group of workers to arrive in front of the theater was repulsed with the help of a nearby restaurateur.

Between an urgent trustee and absent public authorities, Attilio Maggiulli hopes to gain some time.

A request for protection under the Historical Monuments of the facade of the Italian Comedy was filed on November 21, in the hope of benefiting from the aegis of the State.

At the same time, a petition was also put online at the beginning of November, on the change.org platform, in order to mobilize the public.

The Italian Comedy troupe has grown from nearly 10 permanent actors to just two in just a few years.

Simon Cherner / Le Figaro

“We feel less alone.

Our theatrical neighbors in the rue de la Gaîté don't give a damn about it, but at least we have received a little note from the

Théâtre du Soleil

, from the

Théâtre de l'Odéon

, lists Attilio Maggiulli.

We resist! ”

.

Signed since, by more than 20,700 people, the petition also intends to sensitize the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot and the president of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France Valérie Pécresse to the cause of the Italian Comedy.

The director, however, has little hope.

This is not the first time that the theater has struggled to keep its head above water.

Read also A handkerchief from Marilyn Monroe saves a Parisian theater from bankruptcy

In the summer of 2020, the blue and Italian lair owed its salvation to the sale, for 300,000 euros, of a handkerchief of Marilyn Monroe, a pop souvenir once in the collection of Andy Warhol and gallery owner Leo Castelli. And at the start of 2021, the theater came close to being bought out by Productions de la Plume, Dieudonné's company. Benefiting from one-off financial support from the State and the City of Paris in the context of aid to private theaters closed during the pandemic, the Comédie Italienne continues to produce its current show as best it can,

And long live the commedia dell'arte.

From ten permanent actors, the troupe has gradually been reduced over the past five years to two people, while the obligation to control the health pass forces the theater to turn away the unvaccinated public.

A thousand concessions and precautions that would satisfy local elected officials, suspects Attilio Maggiulli.

Alone against all

The sulphurous director has no tongue in his pocket. Neither have their foot on the brakes. Author of caustic shows on George W. Bush and Silvio Berlusconi, Attilio Maggiulli had particularly hit the headlines in 2013, after having thrown his car against the gates of the Élysée Palace. Today, the artist prefers to laugh at this

“semi-improvised”

episode

.

"I had drunk, the day before, with

Wolinski

(

the cartoonist of

Charlie Hebdo

, assassinated in 2015, Editor's note)

, tormenting me about the melting of my subsidies.

He smoked big cigars and laughed and told me “but go see Holland!”.

The next day, I found myself near the Élysée Palace and, without having thought too much about it, I said to myself that it was indeed necessary to go and take a closer look! "

.

Despite financial assistance of 65,000 euros paid by the Ministry of Culture as part of the policy of support for private theaters closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the finances of the Italian Comedy remain in the red.

Simon Cherner / Le Figaro

The artistic director of the Italian Comedy has since been convinced of this, the accident united against his theater a cohort of political opponents.

“At the town hall of Paris, at the Region, at the Ministry of Culture,… They were all socialists at the time.

I have become, in their eyes,

persona non grata, believes Attilio Maggiulli.

People talk about me in the corridors of the town hall in the 14th arrondissement ”

.

The rescue, at the beginning of November, of Tango, a gay nightclub in the Marais, completes the director's bitterness:

“The City of Paris takes over a dance hall from 1997 for 6.7 million euros rather than our theater.

It's political. ”

Read also Theater:

The Producers

, a frenzied comedy

The mayor of Paris concentrates the resentment of the artistic director of the Italian Comedy. A feeling shared by the few passers-by in the rue de la Gaîté caught in the banner summarizing the recent vicissitudes of the theater and the risk of partial disappearance of its facade

. "A scandal"

,

"an incomprehensible stupidity"

,

"a shame"

, he murmurs in front of the building, between two references to the #SaccageParis movement, which treats the current management of the capital online. On the other side of the street, on the other hand, the long queue which stretches out in front of the Bobino theater, seems to be disinterested in the torments that the Italian Comedy is going through.

Indifference does not affect Attilio Maggiulli.

Not without malice, the king of the Harlequins entrusts the

Figaro with

hatching a show dedicated to Anne Hidalgo for next spring.

A scene from the play, already written, will feature the current city councilor ordering the ripolinage of the Lascaux cave and its redecoration with works by Paul McCarthy, the contemporary artist behind the controversial half-tree, half-tree statue. anal plug, exhibited in 2014 on Place Vendôme.

A mischievous deceit in the purest tradition of

commedia dell'arte.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-12-05

You may like

News/Politics 2024-01-30T13:49:45.085Z
News/Politics 2024-02-22T15:02:13.164Z
News/Politics 2024-02-16T18:11:22.563Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.