Théâtre des Calanques

A venue at the edge of the Massif

When it moved into its brand new space in 2017 bordering the Calanques National Park, Théâtre Nono symbolically renamed itself after the iconic Massif.

The story of the Théâtre des Calanques is first and foremost the story of its two founding partners. In 2007, having spent 23 years at the Théâtre de Châtillon, an innovative hub of contemporary creativity, Marion Coutris and Serge Noyelle moved to south Marseille. At the time, the city’s theatres were concentrated in the centre and north. Coutris and Noyelle set up their company in a removable wooden marquee, and the Théâtre Nono was born. Covering opera, drama, dance, music, visual arts, land art and circus arts, Nono has explored every area of the performing arts, while striving to develop a unique style of writing and scenography that is both baroque and minimalist. The space was updated and the company changed its name in 2017, but its goals remain the same, namely to explore all fields of the arts and to introduce audiences to new writing, with levels of expression – scenography, musical composition, text, drama – that are juxtaposed and constitute the very fabric of experimental theatre, all in a convivial, natural setting. And it works! The company is even exporting itself, expressing its unique vision in major festivals and theatres across China, Russia the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Ireland. One of the highlights of 2023 will be the revival of Labyrinthe (first performed 15 years ago), which immerses audiences in a dreamlike world, a phantasmagoric production combining all the company’s know-how (15, 16 and 17 June).

By Maurice Gouiran