Thierry Jolivet was born in 1987 and trained at the Conservatoire de Lyon, before co-founding and becoming artistic director of the La Meute-Théâtre collective in 2010. With La Meute, he stages exhilarating plays that are both narrative and graphic, inspired by the great writers of world literature and driven by a modern conception of the art of the actor. They are also operatic to a certain extent, since music always plays an important role. His first shows were dedicated to major figures of European literature, including adaptations of the works of Dostoevsky (The Grand Inquisitor and Notes from Underground), Cendrars (Prose of the Trans-Siberian), Dante (The Divine Comedy) and Bulgakov (Theatrical Novel).
Since 2014, he has been focusing on the progress of the contemporary world, with the intention of questioning its political future. In Belgrade by Angelica Liddell, played previously at Les Célestins (People’s Choice Award at the Impatience Festival), he depicts Europe as a battlefield and exhumes the ghosts of the 20th century through a requiem-like show about the wars in Yugoslavia.
Then with The Royal Family, based on the novel by William T. Vollmann and first performed at Les Célestins, he juxtaposes our showbiz society, financial capitalism and the nihilism of post-modern culture with biblical archetypes of violence, in a fresco about the United States played out in the style of a roman noir.

 

NÓS: L’AVEUGLEMENT

L’aveuglement is a play created under the direction of Thierry Jolivet and forms part of the international NÓS project led by four drama schools (including ENSATT) in partnership with four theatres in Lyon, Lisbon, Porto and Vigo/Santiago de Compostela. NÓS aims to create a multilingual show performed by student actors speaking French, Portuguese and Galicia

L’Aveuglement
25 – 27 June 2021 at 8.30 p.m.
Salle Célestine – Free entry with prior booking.

L’Harmonie Communale is a Lyon-based company created and directed by Nicolas Ligeon and François Hien. It stages plays written by François Hien, which essentially focus on the script, acting, and speaking directly to the audience. The plays are mostly directed collectively by the actors involved, including the author, who is always on stage.
Its plays are often inspired by real-life stories, or burning social issues, although this is not documentary or news-based theatre – the issues are used as a backdrop, bringing a sense of urgency and intensity to the stories depicted. L’Harmonie Communale regularly adds participatory projects and workshops to the creative process, performing both in theatres and in non-theatrical venues. It seeks to bring in audiences not used to cultural events and believes in a theatre of reconciliation, where everyone recognizes themselves, feels recognized and allows their mindsets to evolve.
Having featured their most recent play Should Olivier Masson Die? in January 2020, Les Célestins is continuing its partnership with François Hien and L’Harmonie Communale, supporting performances on tour and in the Avignon Festival in the summer of 2021, as well as developing their artistic and cultural projects over the next three seasons.

 

Échos de la Fabrique

François Hien / L’Harmonie Communale / Collectif X

The aim of this 2019 – 2021 project is to create a musical fresco for the theatre. It is based on the history of the Lyonnais silk workers known as the “Canuts”, reinterpreted in the light of current issues surrounding work and uprisings, as brought to light by a long participatory investigation.
Performances will involve workers encountered during this investigation.
The play is set in 1831. Despite the bans on workers’ coalitions, the heads of Lyon’s silk workshops meet to demand the introduction of a minimum piece rate. This triggered a confrontation not only with the local bourgeoisie, but also with Louis-Philippe’s liberal monarchy.
The play depicts the course of the revolt, yet a shift occurs in the background context of the story.
From scene to scene, the frame of reference widens, with the social struggle of characters moving into the modern day world.

 

Théâtre de La Renaissance – Oullins, 27 to 29 May 2021
Information and bookings – Théâtre de La Renaissance: theatrelarenaissance.com
Casting in progress
Price: 5 euros / Approx. duration: 2 1/2 hours

Production: Opéra de Lyon (Cultural development unit)
Co-produced by Le Théâtre de La Renaissance – Oullins Lyon Métropole and supported by Les Célestins, Théâtre de Lyon

Lectures

Les Célestins is supporting the forthcoming play by L’Harmonie Communale, Échos de la Fabrique and hosting a series of lectures on the issues raised by the play.
First lecture: Saturday, 7 November 2020 at 3 p.m.
Free entry with prior booking: theatredescelestins.com