In 2020, during the pandemic, theatre was defined as a “non-essential activity.” In France, across Europe, and in many parts of the world, governments agreed on this stance: non-essential. The question is legitimate: is the theatrical act still necessary for building an open and democratic society? Or are we, theatre artists, playing the role of musicians entertaining first-class passengers while the ship sinks?

One way to respond would be to deconstruct the theatrical device, confronting it with its limits and responsibilities. To go to the roots of this secular ritual and place it — without artifice, without machinery — where the future of living together is at stake. To confront it with the brutality of reality, stripping away the comfort of a theatre hall, and to rediscover the value of the “political” in the Greek sense: that which binds us to one another. In this sense, Antigone’s gesture is a research process exploring the possibility of “making society” — beyond languages, identities, and borders — through the simple tools of theatrical action.

From this research will emerge a theatrical creation inspired by Sophocles’ Antigone, which will be presented in France in autumn 2026. A documentary will accompany the performance, tracing the process from the rehearsals in Paris to the places that have nourished the artistic reflection. Co-signed by director Luca Giacomoni and filmmaker Gabrielle Lubtchansky, it will allow audiences to follow the birth of a theatrical gesture — a shared space where body, voice, and breath invent new forms of relation to others.

Today, Antigone’s gesture needs a collective gesture to continue to exist: support the project by making a donation.