La Pastorale Maurel
This theatrical piece is an anachronistic, imaginative depiction of the birth of Christ in Provence, accompanied by numerous adventures. This show for all ages is spoken and sung in Provençal.
About this event
La Pastorale Maurel offers an excellent study of the customs of the period, some of which are still preserved. The actors, all amateurs, wear regional costumes from 1800–1830, worn before the steam train made it easier for Parisian fashion to reach our provinces.
Presented in four acts, this piece uses the Nativity as a pretext for a series of entertaining episodes and ends with the characters gathering around the manger. It will immerse you, well beyond the ever-present religious spirit and Nativity scene, in 19th-century Provence: a world of small trades, squares and villages, of close ties and immediate solidarity, which knew how to welcome “the other” without losing any of its culture or personality.
It is at the heart of this society—with its joys, sorrows, hopes and hard work—that the pastorale invites you to spend nearly four hours.
Accompanied by an orchestra of around fifteen musicians and a choir, the actors, singers and dancers, all completely immersed in their characters, will perform in a fully reimagined and expertly crafted staging. It is the work of a distinguished lineage of Aix-based artists.
