Francis left a theater behind, and Jean-Luc takes on the task of infusing it with an unchanged yet ever-evolving spirit. For the theater and the Niçois language are more of a marriage of eloquence than of reason, bringing great joy to genre enthusiasts and others alike.
It was to learn a little more about the Niçois Theater of Francis Gag and its latest creation that Nice Premium went to meet Jean-Luc Gagliolo, the visionary of this troupe which, for once, will be composed exclusively of actresses.
So, Jean-Luc, once upon a time….
Nice Premium! Nice & Bella: What is that?
Jean-Luc Gag: It is the latest creation of the Niçois Theater of Francis Gag: a contemporary bilingual French-Niçois comedy, with more French than usual. Indeed, since the play is set in the present day, it would not have been credible for the characters to speak only in Niçois. It’s about a young woman who takes on the challenge of starting her own business by relying on an innovative communication approach: Nissa and nissart.
Nice Premium: 3 days before reservations open, then?
JLG: [Jean-Luc Gagliolo] Yes. Opens on May 1st on our website www.theatrenicoisdefrancisgag.fr or by calling 04.93.74.83.05. We have already been receiving reservation requests for weeks, so it was time! For each of our show series (twice a year), our venues are full, whether it is for new creations in spring or traditional plays in December.
Nice Premium: So, only women, then?
JLG: [Jean-Luc Gagliolo] It has been a distant dream of mine, to write solely for women, and it also meets a need for balance: indeed, we just performed Lou vin dei padre at the end of the year and this way, we can give our monks a rest, while our women are on stage.
Nice Premium: Speaking Niçois in the 21st century, is it really serious?
JLG: [Jean-Luc Gagliolo] Why are you asking me that? Are there serious languages and non-serious languages? Major cultures and minor cultures? For several centuries, Niçois has been a refuge for a population that has alternately had state languages imposed on them, Italian or French. Today, natural speakers are becoming rare, but the language remains a point of gathering, a marker of recognition and identity. From a language of daily communication, it is evolving into a different status: that of a cultural language, chosen and learned.
Nice Premium: The Niçois Theater of Francis Gag, it’s the story of….?
JLG: It is the story of a dream, an eighty-year-old vision, that of Francis Gag, which his family continues, three generations after him. It’s also the story of a 1901 association of forty volunteers, lovers of Nice, its language, and theater. It’s also the story of a wonderful rejuvenation: when Francis Gag passed, it was legitimate to wonder about the survival of his troupe, but that question no longer arises. In twenty-five years, we have created sixteen plays, rejuvenated the troupe, filled and rejuvenated the venues! Because the dream has no age, because our language and culture continue to inspire fervor.
Nice Premium: Any projects in the works?
JLG: Certainly! Two creations in the works (already written); a possible musical comedy and always the desire to renew ourselves, as we have been doing for twenty-five years. So yes, projects for today, in the studio and in mind.
Nice Premium: and finally, the dream of the Niçois Theater of Francis Gag, is to….
JLG: To still be around in eighty years!
