Seen from the outside, the enigmatic white structure being assembled to the west of Nice, wedged between the Cadam and the Nikaïa palace, does not yet have much of a theater. In two months, however, Carole Bouquet will play there Berenice. A staging by Muriel Mayette-Holtz, the director of the city’s National Dramatic Center (CDN) who is bubbling with enthusiasm while visiting the site.
“At the TNN, we had at least 150 places with reduced visibility. There, for all the seats, it will be optimal, with a very good stage-room ratio, ”smiles the actress. With the project to extend the Promenade du Paillon and the scheduled demolition this year of the National Theater of Nice, the city has planned the opening of four new rooms, two of which will be inaugurated in 2022. And in particular this modular structure installed in the Plaine du Var.
A temporary structure… destined to stay?
La Cuisine (that’s its name), bought from the Théâtre de Carouge for 7 million euros, traveled in kit form from Switzerland. With its restaurant open every day and its 600 seats all at the same price, it was designed to be temporary. While waiting for the transformation of the Palais des expositions into a Palais des arts et de la culture, in 2025.
“But we already want to keep it,” breathes Hervé Barelli, special adviser to the mayor. The connection to the A8, the tram lines and the future cable car, which will serve Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Cagnes-sur-Mer, and the proximity of Les Moulins are “incredible assets for creating new links”, emphasizes Muriel Mayette-Holtz.
“A mesh of the cultural offer as close as possible to the districts”
“During our period outside the walls, at the beginning of the year, we played at the Lino-Ventura theater, at the Ariane, and it was incredible, she says. We have to reach out to new audiences”. “We are in the process of reinventing a new model, with a mesh of the cultural offer as close as possible to the districts, abounds Thomas Aillagon, the director of Culture for the city of Nice. There are few communities that invest so much in this infrastructure. »
A few hundred meters from the TNN, the Franciscans site has entered its final phase. In the old church, in turn cinema and discotheque, the CDN teams have already begun their move and bleachers have been installed. “The first performance of Darwin smilewith Isabella Rosselini, is scheduled for April 26,” recalls the director.
On site, the workers are still fine-tuning the decor. “Everywhere, we have tried to keep vestiges of the past. There are archaeological windows all over the place”, presents Stéphane Morabito, the director of heritage at the municipality. In one of the rehearsal rooms, frescoes depicting scenes from Telemachus of Fénelon have been brought to light.
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