The Laval theater is therefore now part of the very closed clan of the “National Puppet Centers”, a label awarded by the Ministry of Culture. A recognition for Pierre Jamet the director of the Mayenne establishment _”_there is a history in Laval with Louis Le Mercier de Neuville or even Alfred Jarry. It is one of the most creative fields of the performing arts today with ice puppets, monumental paper installations. It really is a place of creativity. And why Laval? Because, I told you, it echoes our history. And also because the theater has been working a lot on this disciplinary field for a long time. There are also a lot of things happening in Mayenne in this area with the Biennale Onze à table, etc. There were many elements that argued in favor of our candidacy. “. In addition to Laval, there is the most famous theater in Paris dedicated to puppetry, Le Mouffetard, but also the Espace Jéliote in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), L’Hectare – Territoires Vendômois (Centre-Val de Loire) , Le Sablier in Ifs and Dives-sur-Mer (Normandy) and the Théâtre à la Coque in Hennebont (Brittany).
“It will remain a multidisciplinary place for theatre, music, dance, circus. What it changes above all is that we are becoming a center for national creation, a place where artists come to rehearse, create, invent, research”-Pierre jamet the director of the Laval theater
National but also European recognition
The programming of the Laval theater will not be upset despite the attribution of this label: “It will remain a multidisciplinary place for theatre, music, dance, circus. What it changes above all is that we are becoming a center for national creation, a place where artists come to rehearse, create, invent, research. We are really becoming a European national center of creation in this specialty. We had Belgian artists last week, we will have others next week. We will come to Laval to invent, research, create. That’s what changes most of all. “says Pierre Jamet. The Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, recalled that the arts of puppetry were “rich in ancestral traditions, various techniques, creations constantly in motion”, in reference to a thousand-year-old art that has been able to renew itself with new forms and by rubbing shoulders with other disciplines, including digital. The World Festival of Puppet Theaters takes place every two years in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes).