From September 21st to October 1st, Limoges switches to French-speaking time for the new edition of Les Zebrures d’Automne. Beatrice Castaner, Secretary General of the Festival, tells us about it program for this season.

With each edition, the Zébrures show new facets of what is called “la Francophonie”. For you it is plural. Which country is in the spotlight this fall and how?

Yes, always Les Francophonies, because the language is plural, depending on its speakers, the history of that language in the society in which it is spoken and in which it evolves, its friction with other languages. This will notably be the case this autumn in Limoges, where the main themes of Les Zébrures d’automne are the islands and the overseas territories, with several shows mixing Creole and French. The artists present for the shows in Creation come from Mali, Guinea, Canada-Quebec, Haiti, France, Switzerland and for Overseas Reunion, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

My second question follows from the first. Francophonie is overflowing with French. What languages ​​will we hear this fall?

Haitian Creole, Reunion Creole, Antillean Creole. There are also round tables on “Le Mouvement de la créolité”, a “Panorama of French-language Caribbean literature”, “Western influence on Haitian literature and music” (with Yanick Lahens) and “Les new dramaturgies from Haiti »

What will be the part of creation in this edition?

We will present 6 creations and 2 premieres in France from a series of 14 shows by French speaking artists. There are also concerts, literary prizes, debates and professional meetings every afternoon, as well as free shows for young audiences.

Do you make sure the authors are well represented?

Yes, of course, during the two festival periods Zébrures du Printemps and Les Zébrures d’Automne, we pay special attention to female authors and for the past three years, two annual authors’ residencies have been set up especially for them.
For the Zébrures d’automne 22, in particular a show “I can do it and I’ll tell you why. consists of 10 texts commissioned by 10 French-speaking authors. As artists, we welcome directors, choreographers and performers.

Like Avignon, does Les Zebrures respect ecological gestures?

Yes, of course… first of all, we have banned water bottles and canvas bags made in China with logos. The caterer with whom we have been working for 3 years relies mostly on regional and organic products. Throughout the year, in our day-to-day work, we monitor our digital impact (data storage, light digital signature, etc.), reusable documents in print, and for record-keeping, we’ve created a compost and vegetable garden!

Appearance: autumn stripes

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