Against the Covid-19, armor and a mesh rating are not enough. A fabric mask will therefore complement the new outfit of many actors from Puy du Fou. In Vendée, the first large leisure park to reopen since the coronavirus epidemic will welcome the public on Thursday. The application of strict health standards and a restricted audience are the rules that govern its reopening.
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Changes in shows
The management had to reorganize the entire park to sanitary standards. Measures are put in place first for visitors. Their number will be limited to 7,000 per day, against 38,000 usually, on the 150 hectares of the park. The nearly 2,500 actors, trainers and acrobats will also have to act with caution.
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The changes are not only behind the scenes, but also on stage. "We are rehabilitating all of our choreography. We have removed all the close combat" says Florent Monnereau, one of the knights at Puy du Fou. More generally, it was all the shows that had to be rethought, without betraying history either.
In "The Secret of the Spear", Laurette Wierre plays Marguerite, the main character, and she has seen the changes around her. "At one point in the show, Marguerite is strangled. All of these physical contacts have been completely reworked. I don't have gloves or a mask during the show, however all around me, the actors are masked. was biased to spare the character of Marguerite, "she explains.
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A reopened closely scrutinized
The reopening of Puy du Fou to the public will be closely followed by many, starting with the political class. It was in fact arbitrated directly at the Elysée after intense lobbying by elected representatives of the Vendée and their relays in Paris. Philippe de Villiers, its creator, had worked particularly in favor of it. It will also be monitored by the entire industry, which hopes that this green light granted in high places will quickly spread to other large parks in France.
The other key players for whom this reopening is a real deliverance are ... the birds, which have also been confined for two and a half months. "They are athletes, we had to keep their shape, without making them fly. We weigh the birds every day and therefore we kept the flight weight during this period" says Thierry Boucher, the manager of the falconry, which did not drop them with a feather.