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MILLIONS OF THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY GIVEN :
ASSOCIATION
L'OIZEAU RARE, ATP D'AIX, Catherine et Gilles ALEXANDRE, Laetitia
AUGUSTIN-VIGUIER, Ophelia AVRON, Bernard BELLOT, Carotte BERTHIER,
Delphine BOIS, Barthelemy BOMPARD, Sébastien BONNEAU, Pierre BYLAND,
Béatrice CAILLAT, Jean Gabriel CARASSO, Elsa COLONNA, Georges CONNE,
Sylvie CORAZZA, Rosine DREUX, Michèle DUPLAIX, S. FIRMENICH, Julian
FURTUNA, Famille GRANBOULAN, Paul et Marie-Thérèse GRANIER,
Philippe et Marie Christine GRANIER, Jean GRANIER, Jeanne GRANIER,
Nicolas GRARD, Denis HARRAP, Mr. et Mme JACQ, Gilles LACOMBE,
Christine LACOSTE, Jérome LAPLANCHE, Polly LEMOYNE, LES AMIS DE
PHILIPPE AVRON, Michel LIMOGES, Julien NEGRE, Agathe OLIVIER, Bernard
PELINQ, Famille PELTIER, Antoine RIGOT, Michèle SAINT PONT, Noémie
SANSON, Renata SCANT, Hannah SJODIN, Nadine TEXEIRA, Pierrick TIGEOT...
AND IT IS ONLY A BEGINNING !
« You won't be remembered for that which you are paid for. »
Irish proverb
« Extravagance is the luxury of the poor »
Oscar Wilde
Help save the endangered species of travelling
Thespians
2011...
Forty years of Footsbarn... Ten years in Cornwall. Thirty years on the
Road. Four hundred and eighty months of collaboration and creation...
One thousand nine hundred and twenty weeks of bringing theatre to people
and people to theatre...
A whole lot of days, hours, minutes and moments spent performing in
thirty-five countries across five continents, not to mention
transforming ‘La Chaussée’, our base in the Bocage Bourbonnais, from a
pile of stones into a thriving centre of creation and performance for
the company and many other artists...
2011 was supposed to be the year when we celebrated not only all that,
but also our plans for the future. Instead, for the first time in our
history, we were obliged to stop in our tracks, break off our tour of
‘Sorry!’ in Dublin and return home to face the grim possibility of being
liquidated.
In April this crisis forced us to open what is called in France an
“insolvency procedure”. This measure freezes our debts for up to
eighteen months and allows our activities to continue under the
supervision of a judge and a legal representative.
By doing this we have gained time but when that time runs out we shall
have to start the repayment of our debt, which will be spread out over a
maximum of 10 years. Failure to come up with an annual figure decided by
the courts could lead to instant liquidation, as would the creation of
any more debt.
One of the biggest risks we run is losing La Chaussée, the value of
which has been estimated as corresponding pretty much to the total
amount of our debt: €320,000. We have been warned that this
heartbreaking prospect should be seriously considered and it remains a
possibility.
Depressing times for sure, but from the moment we were congratulated by
the Montluçon tribunal for our seriousness, our tenacity and the quality
of our projects – good judges both of character and art, these
tribunals! - we knew that we had made the right decision, and
immediately went back to work with, perhaps unusually for us, a healthy
sense of the reality of our situation.
How did this happen to Footsbarn? You don’t need to be reminded of the
recession and its impact on performing arts in France and all over
Europe. You are aware that theatres are closing while some others cancel
large parts of their seasons. What you may not know is that since 2006
we have been experiencing between 10 and 30 cancelled dates and
dishonoured contracts per year.
In spite of these conditions we‘ve always bounced back, ploughing
everything we have into the shows and tours.
We could have scaled down our work, but we chose instead to go on
focusing on large-scale creations and tours that took us off the beaten
track to the widest possible audience. We believe that this generosity –
which urges us to reach out to audiences of all races, age and social
background, and which led us to build and run a cultural centre in the
middle of French fields – is the driving force of Footsbarn, not its
weakness. Our philosophy led us to to the success and recognition we now
have. We have to be able to go on protecting it.
Our immediate plan? Simple. To regenerate ourselves with generosity,
creativity and the profound belief that the act of theatre is essential
to society.
We’re aware of the energy we'll need to retain this attitude in the
context of a collapsing economy and we’re acutely conscious of the
support we’ll need to maintain that energy. Therefore, with the help of
our local cultural partners who are considering our application for an
‘Emergency Grant’ to see us through 2011, we’re launching a ‘Friends of
Footsbarn’ appeal to sound out patrons, sponsors and creative ways of
raising funds to protect our future.
To keep ourselves active, always a Footsbarn response to difficulties,
we’re planning a local benefit tour of Bourbonnais village halls with
‘FORTY YEARS (IT’S NOT EASY)!’, a winter celebration.
Plans are going ahead for Gala events at la Chaussée and in Paris and
London, where Dominic Dromgoole of Shakespeare’s Globe has offered us
his support.
And then there's a dream which we have been working on for two years
already and which will, the Fates willing, take shape next year: the
creation of a show linking India and Europe, supported by partners as
strong as the European Capital of Culture 2012, Shakespeare’s Globe
Theatre in London and Amsterdam’s Theatre Carré. This production, an
« Indian Tempest », based on the Bard's last play, will be created with
our Keralan Theatre Family in Guimarães, Portugal. Performances in
Portugal, Spain, France, Holland and the West Country, England, will
follow, and then an extensive tour of the country that inspired it,
taking in Mumbai, Kerala, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Delhi and Jaipur. All
this in a theatre tent intended to remain in India, ready to serve and
play host to future projects!
Also, following up our successful ‘A Shakespeare Party’ and ‘Christmas
Cracker’ shows at London’s Globe Theatre, we will be bringing ‘Indian
Tempest’ there in April 2013.
And, to continue our aim of bringing theatre into the depths of the
countryside, we will create a light and mobile show for local touring in
the summer of 2013.
So...
We're alive and kicking !
However, dear friends ,we cannot achieve all this without your
generosity. By helping us,you will become lifelong partners to the
company,co-producers of our dreams and projects. You will always be
welcome under our tent to share a glass and watch a show. In these hard
times your solidarity is inestimable. Thank you from the heart...
Attached are all the details of how to make a contribution.
With love, hope and courage
All the Footsbarn Travelling Theatre
_____________________
Friends of
Footsbarn
Donation: A
Practical Guide
By
becoming a Friend you are helping Footsbarn to continue its'
unique form of travelling theatre,
and present shows under its Tent in far flung corners of the
world, in festivals and villages,towns and fields.
You will also be nurturing a whole range of theatrical events
at our base aiming at radiating culture deep into the
countryside, at a time when commercial culture is
gaining ground
To
become a Friend, your contribution is flexible. Be as
generous as you feel to be. By giving, you become part of
the adventure, an actor of the Dream, a travelling
companion.
How to give ?
By
cheque, payable to the Footsbarn Travelling Theatre
Or by bank transfer at:
| R.I.P. |
|
| ETABLISSEMENT |
20041 |
| GUICHET |
1003 |
| N° COMPTE |
0499369Z024 |
| CLE RIP |
5 |
|
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| DOMICILIATION |
LA POSTE, CENTRE FINANCIER DE CLERMONT, 63900
CLERMONT-FERRAND (France) |
|
|
| IBAN |
FR50 2004 1010 0304 9936 9Z02 405 |
|
|
| BIC |
PSSTFRPPCLE |
|
|
| Titulaire |
FOOTSBARN TRAVELLING THEATRE,
BEL AIR, 03190 HERISSON (France) |
And do not forget to send a mail, a
word, a letter with your donation, demonstrating your commitment
to our company. This will be the first step towards the
gathering to come of the immense crowd of the Friends of
Footsbarn.
Thank you to
everyone
and see you
soon on the road !
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