Closures, representations, postponed or cancelled, refunds…. The movement of the “yellow vests” has not been without consequences for the private theatres. With an increase of only 1 per cent of the ticket office at the national level and their attendance has slowed, disrupted, according to the national Union of the private theatre (SNTP), by the demonstrations that have shaken France since mid-November.

The second half of 2017 had recorded a 7% rise in attendance at the private theatre, which had helped to offset a beginning of the year, gloomy, marked by a 40% drop in the box office because of the electoral calendar.

“at the End of 2018, with the closures of the theatres related to the movement of the yellow Vests have had a considerable impact and irretrievable: we will be well beyond one million euros of losses of tickets”, said Tuesday Bernard Murat, president of the national union of the private theatre, during the presentation of the new season. “This movement, if it reflects a malaise among some of our fellow citizens that it would be inconsistent not to hear, has resulted in a strong decrease of activity over the weekends of December and January,” added the director.

At the Marigny theatre, with € 100,000 loss per day closing

In the area of the Champs-Élysées, several rooms in paris, including the Marigny, the Rond-Point and the Théâtre de la Madeleine have been forced to cancel their programs during several weekends. Jean-Luc Choplin, the director of the théâtre Marigny, had to give up some performances of the musical comedy the Skin of an Ass and the only-in-scene of Frédéric Mitterrand Hello . He said in The new yorker as a private day of performances to cost the trifling sum of € 100,000 to the institution.

” READ ALSO – With the “yellow Vests”, Jean-Luc Choplin has to “put a dream in parentheses” at the Marigny

For the full year 2018, the private theatre in France claims four million spectators for 30.400 representations, with an average price of the wheelchair 26 euros, depending on the SNTP. The attendance in the regions has, however, increased by 22% compared to 2017.

The main claim of the private theatre is able to receive the tax credit, which results in a reduction of the tax on the production companies in respect of expenditure aimed at the creation: “The variety shows have a right to it. It is strange that when we play texts, often literary, it is not supported in the same way,” said to AFP Bernard Murat.

“We have convinced a lot of members. This is not enough but we are stubborn. It is necessary that the new minister of Culture to take a clear initiative on this topic. The tax credit is a powerful lever to support the diversity of creation and develop the use of art”, he added.