share theatre

How does one go about fulfilling this assertion that Cécile Backès established as a leitmotiv at Comédie de Béthune theatre, in northern France? How do you talk about theatre in a crisis-stricken mining region? We used these questions as a starting point to investigate whether there still are cultural practices common to everyone. Photos, portraits, selfies and the pastime of posing have emerged as an everyday theatrical game. We suggested to the theatre that anonymous people, audience members and residents could depict upcoming performances in the visuals. 

The protocol was very simple: interpret the act of welcoming an artist or performing with your hands and face – “share theatre”, in a word. The playful graphic layout sometimes reveals the title while partially masking the face. There is a sort of interplay between the wording of the title and the person ‘holding’ it. This use of space can either add a dose of theatricality to the gesture or portray a bit of the world, everyday life or the space shared by theatregoers.  

a unifying logo / symbol

Comédie de Béthune faced a unique challenge – the theatre was known by several competing names. It is housed in an iconic building called Le Palace and includes a second located elsewhere called Studio Théâtre, which together form La Comédie.

We drew from the imposing architecture of the renovated Le Palace as inspiration for the symbol that now encompasses both La Comédie theatres. The black diamond is a nod to the structure of the façade, with an added coloured prism that reflects the wide array of works performed at the venues. The prism arrangement can be displayed separately, offering several different logo / symbol variations.  

comediedebethune.org