Franck Riester, in full agreement with Christophe Béchu, Mayor of Angers and Christelle Morançais, President of the Pays-de-la-Loire Region, gave his approval to the proposal of the jury to appoint Thomas Jolly to the management of the Quai, national drama center of Angers.
Born in 1982, Thomas Jolly is an actor and director with his company «la Piccola Familia». A former student of the National School of the National Theatre of Brittany and always accompanied by a large number of theatres in the territory, he is a child of theatre decentralization whose legacy he claims. He has conquered professionals and the general public with his productions of «monster works», such as Shakespeare’s Henri VI, which marked the public of the Festival d'Avignon in 2014, where Thyeste de Sénèque, presented in 2018 in the Cour d'honneur of the same festival. A fan of popular, demanding and festive theatre, he has also directed operas such as Cavalli’s Eliogabalo and Offenbach’s Fantasio.
For the Quai, he proposed a project fully in line with what constitutes the DNA of this unique place: an artist’s house, a bubbling crossroads, a bold programming, rich in the diversity of practices and aesthetics, with its territory and open to the world. Convinced that tools like the Quai allow everyone to “go to theatre”, he wants to take up the challenge of making everyone want to “go to theatre” and the keys to “know how to go to theatre”. Taking advantage of the unique architecture of the Quay, Thomas Jolly will make the forum the place of a «middle season» of hybrid forms, accessible to the simple curious as to the informed spectators.
Placing the artistic presence at the heart of his project, he planned to surround himself with 4 to 6 actors, who will embody the place on a daily basis, but also with a «constellation» of invited artists within the «creation workshop». A text artist, Thomas Jolly will finally constitute a «Department of writing for the contemporary scene», conceived as a «generator of texts» likely to tell the world of today.
It will thus extend the work carried out by Frédéric Bélier who left his mark on the recent history of this place. Franck Riester warmly welcomes «Frédéric Bélier-Garcia’s constantly renewed attention to the diversity of forms and his ability to arouse the enthusiasm of the public». The latter will continue his work within his company with the support of the Ministry of Culture.