La Parabole des papillons

The Butterfly Parable makes reference to a 12th-century Persian text that opens on a group of butterflies pondering the fascinating nature of the candle and closes on the spectacle of one of them catching fire in the centre of the flame. This title is emblematic of the work of Michèle Addala and her team who, in their creative itinerary, take risks in the fire of necessary and perilous cultural encounters. “Workshops of words” conducted in the working-class districts of Avignon are one of the project's starting points. For four months, on a regular basis, Michèle Addala, the poet Valérie Rouzeau and the writer Jean Cagnard spoke and had the inhabitants speak about what “being a woman” meant for them. Around a table, on stage or in a caravan, they listened, exchanged words and stories. Following their instincts, sensibilities and cultures, the authors plunged into words and silences, anger and laughter to extract a “common writing” from them blending raw words and poetry. Moreover, Michèle Addala has incorporated into the show the work of certain of the company's year-long workshops such as that of the group of young “steppers” around Cheikh Sall. Michèle Addala's theatre jostles and is jostled by cultural clichés, joyously piles up the imagination of the inhabitants and that of the professionals, the noble and the dreadful, laughter and tears, waiting and bursting. These collages, overlaps and juxtapositions of moving frames attempt to take into account a collective experience carried out in Avignon in 2013.

direction Michèle Addala
direction collaboration and dramaturgy Gilles Robic
texts Jean Cagnard, Valérie Rouzeau
scenography and costumes Laurence Villerot
choreography Cheikh Sall
music Guillaume Saurel
choral work Mardjane Chémirani, Maria Simoglou
world sound Josef Amerveil
lighting and video Erick Priano

with Ana Abril, Pascal Billon, Mardjane Chémirani, Mylène Richard, Cheikh Sall, Maria Simoglou and the residents of Avignon

production Compagnie Mises en scène
coproduction Festival d'Avignon
with the support of: Conseil régional Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, de la Direction régionale des Affaires culturelles Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, du Conseil général de Vaucluse, de la CAF de Vaucluse, de la Direction régionale de la Jeunesse et des Sports et de la Cohésion sociale Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, de la Direction départementale de la Cohésion sociale de Vaucluse, de la Ville d'Avignon, de la SPEDIDAM, de la Fondation Abbé Pierre et de la société LBCM
with Maison Pour Tous et la Médiathèque Champfleury, l'école Scheppler et l'Espace social et culturel de la Croix des Oiseaux