Our selection of two shows that celebrate sacred heritage

The Alsatian epic

Terre Alsatia, Saint-Étienne church, Mulhouse, from February 22 to March 17. Contact: terra-alsatia.fr; 03 89 35 48 48.

This Terra Alsatia, it is first of all the love story between Violette, heiress of an Alsatian entrepreneur, and Édouard, son of a worker, while the construction site of the Saint-Étienne church in Mulhouse begins… through these characters and their descendants, the author and director Damien Fontaine tells the upheavals of the history of the Alsatians, caught in the turmoil of three wars and two occupations, between 1859 and 1945. The amateur actors interact within an immersive sound and light which projects colorful and changing decorations on the interior walls of… Saint-Étienne, “vast like a cathedral”, according to Damien Fontaine. He is used to creating in churches. His show at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste cathedral in Lyon was a great success and he is preparing another at Saint-Sulpice, in Paris. We still had to convince the parish to let the director take over the premises for two months, for rehearsals, then for the two sessions per day! “We accepted this adventure,” says Don Armand, one of the three priests of Saint-Étienne, “on the condition that we could continue to celebrate worship. We found that the show conveyed a message of peace, reconciliation and forgiveness which made sense in a church.” The parish team is responsible for welcoming and coordinating the 300 volunteers: extras, actors, costume designers… “A great opening mission, knowing that 75% of them do not come from the parish!”, comments Don Armand , who himself donned the costume… of a soldier from 14-18 to immerse himself with them. The priests will also receive the public upon their arrival. At a time when we are talking about compatible uses in places of worship, this cultural project should bring together 16,000 spectators from all walks of life. Ephemeral but unifying.