Newly installed in the direction of the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, where he took up his duties on July 15, at the age of 37, Julien Gosselin is still in process. He details his plans for France’s second public theater institution, prestigious but budget-challenged.
For a long time you said that you did not want to run an institution. What made you finally decide to take the reins of the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe?
It was often said that I rejected the institution, like other creators of my generation – Caroline Guiela Nguyen [qui est aujourd’hui directrice du Théâtre national de Strasbourg]Sylvain Creuzevault… –, but that is not entirely true. What’s more, for a long time they didn’t offer it to us. And then we didn’t think about it because they didn’t tell us. Then the Ministry of Culture suggested that I think about the Odéon and I told myself that it was the craziest challenge I could try and that it was worth trying. Because I love this house, where I have performed most of my shows, because I have the impression that we can make it a great European theater, and because I have reached what we can call a form of maturity to be in charge of a machine like this .
What does the Odéon mean to you?
The fundamental aspect for me is the identity of the Odéon as a theater of Europe. I thought I could bring the experience gained over the years, because I have traveled and worked a lot abroad. [à la Volksbühne de Berlin ou à l’Internationaal Theater d’Amsterdam, entre autres]. Thus I was able to see the creations of several young European artists whose works we do not know in France and who I would like to discover. This is the focus of my project. I believe in the idea that the great European institutions can be centers of contemporary creation, where we take risks, where we offer radical and demanding shows.
The European dimension is part of the Odéon’s DNA and was respected by its predecessors. Where can you differentiate yourself from the work that has already been done?
In fact, this European dimension is already a reality. It is about continuing it by opening a space for a new generation of creators. I note that we reach the end of two generations of great masters: from Krystian Lupa or Frank Castorf to Thomas Ostermeier. This was a great moment in the history of theater, but today there is a generation that follows it, that finds its place in the festivals – Automne, Avignon… – but does not necessarily defend itself in the theaters as its predecessors were. Important artists, such as the Catalan collective El Conde de Torrefiel, the Austrian Florentina Holzinger, the Brazilian Carolina Bianchi, the trans artist Samira Elagoz, are superstars in Europe, but they are not programmed in large institutions, because they remain very identified with the Question of text and repertoire.
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