"It clears your head a lot": an association develops cultural activities for people with disabilities

Marie Gicquel, Photo credit: Stéphane DUPRAT / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP 10:12 am, April 12, 2023, modified at 10:12 am, April 12, 2023

On stage, everyone can find their place. The association Souffleurs de Sens accompanies people with disabilities in cultural activities ranging from singing to body expression and theater. Europe 1 attended one of the rehearsals on the boards of a theater in Paris.

Rewriting stories

"Can we redo Act II, Scene I?" Standing on an improvised stage, Naïs, Safwan and Raphaël repeat this version of the myth of the Minotaur. "I'm getting fed up with my sister who doesn't love me," says one of them.

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These amateur actors rewrote this story with their teacher. The mythological character of the Minotaur inspires Naïs. "This is a character who has been put in a hellish maze. In the end, we did not listen to his voice," she told Europe 1.

The challenge of an inclusive scene

For these thirty-year-olds with disabilities, the stage appears as a therapeutic space but difficult to access. "It clears the head a lot," says one of them. The problem is that there are not enough structures for those with disabilities," Naïs continues.

For Émilie Bourgoin, director of the association Souffleurs de scène, it is necessary to bet on inclusivity: "It is up to society to put itself in battle order to allow people with disabilities to practice professionally or amateurly".

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"Come and see what it's like actors like us who do theater," says Naïs. The invitation to see this new Minotaur is launched!