While having his young troupe rehearse for the first time, Jean Bellorini suddenly has the impression of reviving old ghosts: on the stage, 22 amateurs full of life put on costumes worn, there are more than a half. century, by Maria Casarès, Jean Vilar or even Georges Wilson. What do they have in common? They marked with their paw, their tone, their playing, the long history of Popular National Theater (TNP). «And it is overwhelming!», confides in an almost trembling voice the director who took the reins, a little over a year and a half ago.
Presented this Saturday, September 25 in Villeurbanne (Rhône), its creation And others than me will perhaps continue my dreams is the culmination of a centenary that the establishment has been celebrating for nearly a month, through meetings, exhibitions and original shows.
→ READ. Villeurbanne, popular capital of culture
On November 11, 1920, Firmin Gémier brought out of the ground, in Paris, the first version of the TNP, the fruit of a revolutionary utopia inspired by Maurice Pottecher and which has become an obsession: theater for all. The last on the list of his successors is now clear: “ we must never fall into the trap of forgetting but constantly renew this project which seeks only one thing: to humanize society a little. »
A NPT in the plural
On the mezzanine overlooking the entrance to the building, old memos are displayed: “Dear Monique, it is essential to send the actors these good faith remarks which come from the spectators», can we read from the hand of Jean Vilar. Because if he is not the founding father, the man of the theater is a key architect of the conquest of the new public: at the helm between 1951 and 1963, he introduced an end-of-show questionnaire, lower prices. , schedule changes, which blew up the “bourgeois” codes. So much so that the sociologist Laurent Fleury, invited to speak this Saturday afternoon, recounts having heard several times in his interviews: «Vilar’s NPT changed my life. »
Here, we readily speak of “the” NPT. First, for obvious geographical reasons, since, after having been successively associated with the Trocadéro and Chaillot palaces in Paris, the label was transferred to the Lyon metropolis where decentralization ended up doing its job. But also because the institution is imbued with each new mandate with a personality and a historical context. «We want it to bring together and educate in the post-war periods, while it must instead challenge and transform in the post-1968 years!», recalls Marion Denizot, professor of theater studies at the University of Rennes.
After the “democratization” of the great classics, therefore, Georges Wilson gradually opened up the repertoire to contemporary authors. Roger Planchon claimed power in «director-creator». All will suffer their share of criticism – artistic, administrative, societal – but none will arouse controversy.
A political fight
«And it’s curious ”, we hear several times in the room. Because the job is a “huge responsibility” », As Jeanne Laurent suggests, in an exchange of letters chosen to inaugurate the centenary events. The decisive role of this high official from the middle of the twentiethe century reminds us that the anniversary is also that of a political fight, to impose everywhere the intuition of public theater. If the gesture is today taken up by many initiatives, institutional or citizen, the National Popular Theater remains a place of memory and an eternal experience, «whose ambition will never really come true ”, believes Jean Bellorini.
Appointed in January 2020, this supporter of an art made «by and for hearts» refuses the title of heir but feels responsible for the history of an establishment, which it sometimes happens to rename «National Poetic Theater». It promotes transmission «direct “, by importing its concept of «ephemeral troop» with young inhabitants, or by supporting the project of mini-cultural centers in schools.
«I believe that the permanence and the anchoring of artists in the territory are among our most effective tools today ”, he explains. The goal has not really changed: to remember that everyone has in themselves «the faculty of wonder “.
—————–
The National Popular Theater in six terms
1920. After the abortive experience of the Traveling National Theater, the director Firmin Gémier founded the National Popular Theater (TNP) at the Trocadéro Palace in Paris.
1951. Supporter of a “Theater-public service”, Jean Vilar is appointed by Jeanne Laurent at the head of the TNP, at the new Palais de Chaillot.
1972. The label was transferred to the Théâtre de la Cité, founded in Villeurbanne by Roger Planchon, who took over the management alongside Patrice Chéreau and Robert Gilbert: the TNP became a symbol of decentralization.
2002. Christian Schiaretti becomes director of the establishment, where he notably inaugurates the new Grand-Théâtre.
2020. Jean Bellorini, former director of the Gérard-Philipe Theater in Saint-Denis, takes over: he proposes a project focused on transmission and anchored in the territory.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
