Conceived in Roya, a show mixing Greek experiences and myths will be performed in Nice

Their names are Caroline, Michèle, Jean-Michel, Fabrice, Jean-François, Johanna, Sonia, Ludivine, Perrine, Blanche, and Alain. They all live in Roya. And none of them are professional actors. Yet, each of them responded to a surprising classified ad to take part in a show: "Come and blend your story with Greek myths." The show will take the form of intensive theater workshops, before a performance in Breil-sur-Roya in April.

Like a Sisyphus, the summit might have seemed impossible to reach, but in just two weeks, a true artistic performance has indeed emerged. So much so that a second performance is planned for this Friday in Nice, at the Entre-Pont.

Eleven volunteers

This audacious project was made possible by the "Culture and Rurality" plan, launched by the dedicated ministry. "The Drac provided aid so that a troupe, via the Théâtre national de Nice (TNN), could do a residency with amateurs," explains Sylvie Vassallo, from the Friends of Roya association - a partner structure in the project. The choice thus fell on "L'Observatoire, a living theater company" to orchestrate this initiative with the valley's inhabitants. "The result is an exceptional moment; they went looking deep within themselves."

The link between the new actors and the Nice troupe is also facilitated by the association organizing the Passeurs d'humanité festival. "The Friends of Roya spread the word. We didn't have any contacts here. We simply said we would be working with between 8 and 12 locals. Luckily, eleven participants volunteered. Some made themselves available to live this experience – extremely gripping, profound, and intense," emphasizes Laurent Grappe, the director. He specifies that he worked with these amateur actors as he would have with professionals. A question of vision. "In both cases, our work is focused on the meaning and the message, before the show. This allows us to work with people regardless of their level of theater practice."

"And then these are their words, their thoughts, not writings external to them," adds Violeine Denis, director of the writing workshop. Because within the company they both created in 2017, the purpose goes beyond simple performance. "We are passionate about people. What binds us is how we manage to function together. For us, theater is the meeting of culture, ethnology, sociology, and philosophy," summarizes Laurent.

Intersecting stories

The starting point of this whole adventure? "We started with the hypothesis that we were going to work on mythological entities. So we started with a writing workshop so that they could find the bridges between these entities and their own lives," says the director. To achieve a coherent result in the allotted time, each participant was asked to write three texts, so as to quickly have a structure to work on. To then test it on stage. "Violeine gave very open writing topics. After that, they all made an attempt at writing, then at restitution, to begin to open up to an oral speech."

The mythological characters everyone identified with emerged without any real difficulty. "We expected Dionysus, Poseidon, Athena, and we got them. But there was also Demeter, the Pythia, Hecate... And always for good reasons."

With this material appearing under each person's pen, then before her eyes, Violeine quickly projected herself. "There were two or three scenes that I imagined either as an opening or an ending. Very quickly, ideas emerged. Then, it was dramaturgy. Texts were cut, others rewritten, there were additions. It had to be clear, well distributed, everyone had to be respected in their writing, their words, their energy," she says. "Violeine started from eleven very different points of view, and she focused on finding echoes, links between all the stories," opines Laurent. For whom the tour de force was to arrange all the extracts in fifteen days. In such a way that they positioned themselves in reaction to or as a complement to each other.

Joint restitution

On Friday, the gods of Roya won't be alone. And for good reason: the event will bring together all the mythology-related projects the company has developed throughout the year. There will be a play about Andromache with 8th-grade students from Ariane, another about Clytemnestra with students from Cagnes studying for their baccalaureate. There will also be a show about Phèdre with a group of enlightened amateurs from a theater workshop in Nice. This will be followed by a closing "Racine jam session" with a simple premise: anyone who wants to come and perform a scene.

Laurent is looking forward to it: "We really want all participants to see each other. We recommend an approach that is far from being closed-minded."

Accustomed to supporting diverse audiences, Laurent and Violeine noticed a particularity in Roya. "We were very touched by the commitment. These are people who are full of themselves, who don't hide," says Violeine . "There is courage, a great humanity, something very beautiful and very strong about them. Intimate and delicate."

Before the festival

This year, the Passeurs d'humanité festival – whose theme will be: Cooperate – is not limited to the month of July. Thanks to support from the Drac and Crédit Mutuel pour la lecture, several workshops are being organized in advance. This includes the game "De Passage" created by Ramona Badulescu and Émilie Jackowski in 2022, after the two artists collected memories from people in the valley. Using word cards in several languages ​​(including Tendasque) and image cards, players are invited to converse and weave shared stories. "Ramona and Émilie returned to the valley to train people at the Priory, at the Tende retirement home, at the leisure school…" , says Sylvie Vassallo. Other projects to be held before the summer include training parents in family reading, creating hero frescoes, and the return of the Literary Olympiad.

"The Valley of the Gods" will be performed Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Entre-Pont (89, route de Turin) as part of the "Go and See the Greeks" evening. Details and reservations are available at www.helloasso.com/associations/entre-pont . Price: 7/10 euros. Another performance will be offered on July 19 in Tende during the Passeurs d'humanité event.