Dedans Dehors

Dedans Dehors: Performing Arts Where You Least Expect Them

Created in 1998 by the Théâtre Brétigny, Dedans Dehors is one of the oldest and most recognized open-air performing arts festivals in the Île-de-France region. Labeled a national convention-supported venue by the Ministry of Culture, Théâtre Brétigny has been developing this unique project for over twenty-five years, which consists of bringing performing arts closer to residents, within their daily living spaces, far from traditional performance halls.

A Philosophy of Open-Air Performance

The philosophy of Dedans Dehors is profoundly political and social. Based on the observation that many residents of the agglomeration's towns never attend theaters due to unfamiliarity, habit, or the feeling that these places are not for them, the festival decided to reverse the logic: it is not the audience that comes to the performance, but the performance that comes to the audience. Urban parks, heritage sites, schoolyards, industrial wastelands, and social housing estates become ephemeral stages where artists invest the space with renewed inventiveness.

Great Artistic Diversity

Dedans Dehors stands out for its resolutely multidisciplinary programming. Contemporary circus, site-specific dance, street theater, fairground arts, musical performances, immersive or participatory formats: all aesthetics of performing arts are explored, provided they engage with public spaces and living areas. Some performances are large-scale spectacles gathering several hundred spectators in parks or historic sites, while others are intimate creations for a few dozen people in a container, a caravan, or a community hall.

A Festival That Tours the Agglomeration

Dedans Dehors does not take place in a single location but throughout the towns of Cœur d'Essonne. Brétigny-sur-Orge, Leudeville, Leuville-sur-Orge, Breuillet, La Norville, Saint-Yon, Ollainville, and other towns in the agglomeration host the festival's performances in turn. Small trains circulate between the sites to facilitate festival-goers' travel and invite them to discover spaces they may not know. This mobility is at the heart of the project: the festival is a tool for discovering the territory as much as an artistic event.

Artists Who Share the Project's Vision

Théâtre Brétigny works with artists who share its vision of performing arts rooted in the territory. Circus companies that make parks vibrate with aerial performances, dance troupes that take over wastelands and gardens, directors who create dramaturgical spaces in places steeped in local history: each artistic proposal is conceived in dialogue with the venue that hosts it. Some creation residencies take place in the towns themselves, allowing artists to build relationships with residents before the performance.

A Popular and Festive Festival

Beyond artistic and territorial stakes, Dedans Dehors is above all a moment of celebration and conviviality. Free or affordably priced performances, shuttle services between sites, catering offered at some locations: everything is designed so that families, neighbors, and the curious can experience an extraordinary day or evening without financial or logistical constraints. The festival attracts several thousand spectators each year and contributes significantly to the cultural life of the agglomeration.