This is the squaring of the circle: reconciling a live performance and the constraints linked to Covid-19. To achieve this, the actors of the cultural world affected by the health crisis are waiting for meetings with the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot in the coming days.
There is no planned round table but a series of tête-à-tête, from Wednesday, between the new resident of the rue de Valois and the representatives of a disaster-stricken activity. The performing arts sector was one of the first to lower the curtain and still has not raised it, except for pocket protests. The ban on pits, where the public is standing, thus does not allow the reopening of a number of concert halls where the seated configuration is not economically viable.
The situation is not much better in theaters, especially for those with little or no subsidy. “We would have to reach 80% of the gauge to have the capacity to breathe», Summarizes for AFP Jean-Michel Ribes, director of the Rond-Point theater in Paris. He hopes “a clear visibility on the functioning of our rooms, with a real consideration of the live performance».
The playwright and director no longer wants “confusion as there was with Puy-du-Fou, for lack of communication“. The prefectural exemption of this theme park for a show with 9,000 spectators this weekend – gatherings of more than 5,000 people are prohibited until October 30 – has made the living arts cringe. Faced with the galloping controversy, the minister had to speak out, affirming that “no passWould be granted.
Jean-Michel Ribes bounces back: “where are we entitled to exemptions? With what protocol? That all hypotheses be considered and clearly defined, with the necessary financial support, of course».
The partial unemployment measures should be extended until the end of 2020, or even beyond, because we will be affected for another one or two years.
Angelo Gopee, boss of Live Nation France
Faced with treasuries in the red, “accompanying measures should be announced immediately», Adds Angelo Gopee to AFP, boss of Live Nation France, a company that organizes and promotes shows. “Partial unemployment measures should be extended until the end of 2020, or even beyond, because we will be affected for another one or two years.», Details the one who is also a member of the board of directors of Prodiss, the first employers’ organization of musical entertainment in the private sector.
In the immediate future, Angelo Gopee would also like a “exemption from charges, until the end of the year, which is written in the facts and not only in the words“. And in the longer term, he calls for a “recovery plan“, for “bring people back to theaters».
The boss of Live Nation France recalls that it is not only the “artists, technicians and show producersWhich are threatened, but also a whole linked economy, such as “bus drivers, dressers, hostesses, cooks, etc.».
«Put everyone around the table»
He takes a dim view of the individual interviews stalled by the minister. “It is Roselyne Bachelot’s responsibility to bring everyone around the table, it is all together that we will be able to face the colossal challenges of the months and years to come.», He believes.
«Roselyne Bachelot can be this federator. She is a brave woman, says Jean-Michel Ribes. With her double quality of Minister of Culture and Doctor of Pharmacy, I think she will find the true path so that we can find the scenes as much as possible.».
An appointment was also made at the end of August with Frantz Steinbach, at the head of “night committee, musical and festive places of life». «We are still the sacrifices of the Republic, our industry is in danger of dying out, he laments to AFP. We are waiting for a roadmap to imagine a partial resumption of activity. Let us rely on our skills and expertise, otherwise there will be more and more wild parties».
–
