Water is Memory
Theatre and Memory Festival by Procédé Zèbre company in Vichy
About Water is Memory
Water as a Metaphor for Memory
The Water is Memory festival was born in 2014 from the artistic universe of Fabrice Dubusset, founder and artistic director of the Procédé Zèbre company, based in Vichy since 1991. Based on the observation that water—omnipresent in Vichy's thermal identity—can serve as a metaphor for memory, the festival explores how "water refreshes memory" by taking over historic sites to resonate with theatre, spoken word, and artistic creation.
The Vichy racecourse, a founding location for the festival, hosted the performances of 13, a play by Chochana Boukhobza directed by Fabrice Dubusset, from the very first edition. This seminal work questions the memory of World War II and the Holocaust. Since then, the festival has continuously expanded its territory and forms, becoming a unique annual event in the cultural landscape of the Allier region.
A Festival Rooted in Places of Memory
The uniqueness of Water is Memory lies in its connection to the historic sites of the department. The festival takes over sites rich in memory—the racecourse, the Mal Coiffée prison, the former Cusset prison, villages in the Allier—to create performances and trails that dialogue between past and present. The Bus des Mémoires (Memory Bus), a memory and artistic journey between villages and rivers, has become one of the festival's highlights, taking spectators on a travelling tour across the region.
This approach of site-specific engagement is at the heart of Procédé Zèbre's identity. For over thirty years, the company has been experimenting with hybrid forms of performance that resonate with the spaces in which they intervene, from psychiatric hospitals to public squares, from high schools to heritage sites.
Theatre, Memory, and European Citizenship
Water is Memory goes beyond being a simple festival of performances to become a civic and European project. Through Erasmus+ partnerships and the Laboratories Iuvenis program, the festival brings together young people from France, Romania, and Austria for creation workshops where theatre, poetry, and music become vehicles for discussing memory, peace, tolerance, and freedom of expression.
The participatory workshops, open to high school students, amateur artists, and citizens, invite everyone to become active participants in the transmission of memory. Conferences and meetings complement the program, fostering reflection on contemporary forms of resistance. The photographic exhibition by Brigitte Brihat, L'Indicible, testifies to this desire to cross artistic perspectives on memory.
The project Sigmaringen — On the Trail of Lisa Franck, which brought together German and French artists, illustrates the festival's international dimension and its ability to forge links between European memories. This creation fueled the festival's energy during its 10th edition in May 2025.
Water is Memory — edition 2026
11th edition of the Water is Memory festival, organized by the company Procédé Zèbre from May 7 to 23, 2026 in Vichy, Cusset and Le Mayet-de-Montagne. Under the artistic direction of Fabrice Dubusset, the edition addresses essential themes for democratic vitality: territorial memories, disinformation and freedom of expression, migrations. On the program: theater, dance, drawn performances, sound installations, concerts and meetings, including the 2026 creations Contre le bourrage de crâne (after Albert Londres), La Cabine (intergenerational project in Montagne Bourbonnaise) and Vérité ou Mensonge ? (from the trinational project Fake News et citoyenneté numérique).
11th Edition — Water is Memory 2026
The 11th edition of the Water is Memory festival takes place from May 7 to 23, 2026 in Vichy, Cusset and Le Mayet-de-Montagne. The company Procédé Zèbre, under the artistic direction of Fabrice Dubusset, presents a transdisciplinary program combining theater, dance, drawn performances, sound installations, concerts and meetings.
Three Thematic Axes
The 2026 edition explores three essential issues for democratic vitality:
- Territorial memories — embodied by La Cabine, an intergenerational memorial device bringing together middle school students and elders from Le Mayet-de-Montagne around memories of the Montagne Bourbonnaise (opening on May 8).
- Disinformation and freedom of expression — at the heart of the creation Contre le bourrage de crâne (Procédé Zèbre & Collectif EINA), a drawn performance based on Albert Londres' reports during the First World War (May 7 in Vichy, May 9 in Le Mayet), and the trinational project Fake News et citoyenneté numérique (with young people from France, Germany and Romania), which culminates in the performance Vérité ou Mensonge ? and Radio Zèbre.
- Migrations — explored in No Man's Land. Chroniques d'une frontière by Collectif ÏNUÉE (May 19) and Négocier le Ciel by Nigerian dancer-choreographer Femi Adebajo, focusing on Yoruba rituals (May 20).
Festival Highlights
The edition opens on Thursday, May 7 at the Centre social René-Barjavel in Vichy with the creation Contre le bourrage de crâne, and closes on Saturday, May 23 at the Maison des associations in Vichy with a concert by Ballast preceded by a performance by Les Zèbrés in Occident express (after Matei Visniec).
Throughout the festival, Radio Zèbre, a participatory radio station hosted by freelance journalist Florine Hausfater and the young residents, broadcasts live interviews, reports and atmospheres from the festival venues.
The project is a laureate of the Franco-German Prize from the Franco-German Youth Office (OFAJ) and the Hippocrène Foundation.
Programme Water is Memory 2026
Thursday, May 7, 2026
- 8:00 PM — Contre le bourrage de crâne · Procédé Zèbre & Collectif EINA — Centre social René-Barjavel, Vichy · Drawn Performance (theater, live drawing, music, dance) based on Albert Londres' reports on the First World War. Directed by: Fabrice Dubusset · Actress: Frédérique Mille · Musical creation: Cyril Meysson · Drawing creation: Domata Tosatto and Baptiste Daoust.
Friday, May 8, 2026
- 11:45 AM — La Cabine — Mémoires de la Montagne Bourbonnaise · Procédé Zèbre — Meeting Point Place de la Mairie, Le Mayet-de-Montagne · Performance and opening of a photo and sound exhibition. Intergenerational memorial device: middle school students and residents of Montagne Bourbonnaise give voice to their memories.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
- 7:30 PM — Contre le bourrage de crâne (repeat performance) · Procédé Zèbre & Collectif EINA — Salle de la Grenette, Le Mayet-de-Montagne · Drawn Performance.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
- 11:00 AM — Fake News et Citoyenneté Numérique — meeting with Europe Direct Allier — Venue to be confirmed · School session.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
- 11:00 AM — Fake News et Citoyenneté Numérique — meeting with journalist Marie-Béatrice Baudet (Le Monde) — Institution Saint-Joseph, Cusset · School session.
- 7:30 PM — Vérité ou Mensonge ? — Espace Chambon, Cusset · Performance and meeting with Marie-Béatrice Baudet (Le Monde journalist). Trilingual performance (French, German, Romanian) from the trinational project, directed by Fabrice Dubusset and Arnaldo Ragni. Free admission.
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
- 2:00 PM — No Man's Land. Chroniques d'une frontière · Collectif ÏNUÉE — Centre culturel de Vichy · School session.
- 8:30 PM — No Man's Land. Chroniques d'une frontière · Collectif ÏNUÉE — Centre culturel de Vichy · Theater. Full price 18 € / Reduced price 15 €. Directed by: Guenièvre Busto · Performed by: Guenièvre Busto and Manon Galley.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
- 7:30 PM — Au delà du Réel — Les Foyers de l'Étoile — Centre culturel de Vichy · Theater (all audiences). Directed by: Isabelle Paez, with the group "L'Étoile" formed by amateur actors with disabilities, in partnership with the CDN de Montluçon — Théâtre des Îlets. Free admission.
- 8:30 PM — Négocier le Ciel · Femi Adebajo — Centre culturel de Vichy · Dance. New creation by the Nigerian dancer-choreographer, a ritual performance inspired by African traditions of rain invocation and Yoruba cosmologies.
Saturday, May 23, 2026
- 7:00 PM — Occident express · Les Zèbrés (after Matei Visniec) — Salle des Fêtes de la Maison des associations, Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, Vichy · Theater.
- 8:30 PM — Ballast — Salle des Fêtes de la Maison des associations, Vichy · Closing Concert. World music quintet (trumpet, saxophone, guitar, bass, drums).
Throughout the festival
- Radio Zèbre — online participatory radio, hosted by freelance journalist Florine Hausfater and the young Fake News residents. Interviews, reports, and atmospheres broadcast live on the Internet.
Highlights Water is Memory 2026
- 11th edition from May 7 to 23, 2026 in Vichy, Cusset and Le Mayet-de-Montagne
- Three thematic axes: territorial memories, disinformation and freedom of expression, migrations
- 2026 creation Contre le bourrage de crâne (Procédé Zèbre & Collectif EINA) after Albert Londres
- Intergenerational memorial device La Cabine in Le Mayet-de-Montagne
- Trinational project Fake News et citoyenneté numérique (France, Germany, Romania) — laureate of the Franco-German Prize from OFAJ and the Hippocrène Foundation
- Performance Négocier le Ciel by Nigerian dancer-choreographer Femi Adebajo
- Theater by Collectif ÏNUÉE with No Man's Land. Chroniques d'une frontière
- Closing concert by the group Ballast (world music)
- Radio Zèbre, participatory radio broadcast throughout the festival
Prices Water is Memory 2026
Practical information — Water is Memory
Locations
The 2026 edition takes place in three municipalities in Allier:
- Vichy — René-Barjavel Social Center; Valery-Larbaud Cultural Center (15 rue Maréchal Foch); Salle des Fêtes of the Maison des associations (Place de l'Hôtel de Ville)
- Cusset — Espace Chambon; Institution Saint-Joseph
- Le Mayet-de-Montagne — Salle de la Grenette (Place de la Mairie)
Dates
The festival is held annually in May, usually over three weeks. The 2026 edition takes place from May 7 to 23.
Prices
Several shows are free to attend or have free admission (notably Au delà du Réel, Vérité ou Mensonge ?, vernissage La Cabine). Paid shows are offered at a moderate price (around 15-18 €, reduced price possible). Pass Culture and Pass'Région accepted.
Reservations
- By phone: 07 87 33 86 75
- By email: [email protected]
- Online: HelloAsso ticketing — helloasso.com/associations/procede-zebre
Contact
- Compagnie Procédé Zèbre
- Artistic Director: Fabrice Dubusset
- Phone: 07 87 33 86 75
- Email: [email protected]
- Postal address: BP 12306, 03203 PPDC Cusset Vichy
- Website: procedezebre.com
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Where does it take place — Water is Memory
Centre culturel de Vichy, Cusset et Le Mayet-de-Montagne
Centre Culturel Valery-Larbaud, 15 rue Maréchal Foch, 03200 Vichy, 03200 Vichy