Cocoon

PROGRAMMING

– for babies.

It’s Sunday, isn’t it ? And “Father’s day”…

Well, you see, before I saw that, I couldn’t believe it.

Jakie, Armelle, Marie-Claude had told me: yes, babies are interested in baby shows.

When they had said: from the age of 6 months, I remembered my sons, and I doubted.

So I went to see.

And then there: I still can’t believe it, and yet, this shock dates back a few years already.

There were a few mothers and their babies in the room – which had been reduced to a minimum – and they were all in the same room.
Cushions, rattles, bottles, nappies
Not too many moms – or dads , these are “little gauge” shows.

The first one I saw, on the stage, there was some kind of huge wooden nest and that was it.

The lights went down. And from behind us, we heard a voice. A song. An absolutely splendid, sweet, hoarse song.
And the babies turned their eyes to the song.

The singer came very softly, very gently, on the stage, very close to the babies, and she sang for them.
It was very, very simple.
She curled up in the wooden nest…
The kids kept their eyes on her.
She was always singing.

Another voice was heard – from behind the scenes.
The children opened their eyes wide.
And the second singer arrived, all dressed in white.
And the children looked at her.

It lasted 35 minutes.
Thirty-five minutes where the young women “passed” the song to each other and the little ones went from one beautiful girl to another.

Not a single one cried. Not one of them was hungry.
And I couldn’t believe it.
They didn’t applaud at the end, of course.
But you could feel the well-being all over the room.
And that, I promise you, is a feeling I’ll never forget.

So afterwards, yes, I went to see the show that didn’t look like anything at all, based on tissue paper and two artists who created paper worlds.
A dream to see.

I saw the show based on bubbles, and what a wonder to see all those little fascinated faces.
And the one with shadow puppets.
And the one with violins.
And the one with…

There are companies of artists in every country dedicated to making babies happy.
Frankly, to an adult, their shows look like nothing at all.

For a theatre director, it’s hell: what? A whole theatre blocked for so few fathers/mothers ?

But for a director who wants to retain the loyalty of moms, dads, families… it’s a happy obligation.
Afterwards, if the director has a word to say about the construction of the theatre, he will be well advised to have a “cocoon” room planned, for the very small gauges – where a few dads, a few mums, a few babies will be installed and where magic can work without taking up seats in the big halls for the old people!

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