Laurence Cohen, director of the Sarah in all these states program, a great connoisseur of live performance at the head of the Compagnie à Bulles troupe, details the events for us.

Exhibitions, meetings, debates… from March 22 to 26, Laurence Cohen is organizing a series of events in Paris to (re)discover “the sublime” Sarah Bernhardt. A discovery that will continue Belle-Ile-en-Mer.

“Sarah in all her states”: from March 22 to 26, 2023 in Paris

“During the opening ceremony on Wednesday evening, academician Laurent Pernot will retrace the trial that the Comédie Française brought against Sarah when she slammed the door because she wanted to take a trip in a hot air balloon – which her contract forbids her from. member. She sidesteps and resigns, proclaiming loud and clear: “I do what I want! ". This opening night is being held at the Théâtre de la Ville Espace Cardin which was directed, let us remember, for years by Sarah Bernhardt (which should reopen next September, after seven years of closure for works, under the name of the actress Editor's note). We also welcome Muriel Mayette-Holtz from the Académie des Beaux-Arts for a reading of some excerpts from Sarah's writings. During the same evening, Anne Delbé, who wrote a magnificent book on the last years of her life ("Sarah's smile"), will evoke these very moving moments. There will also be a question of the multifaceted Sarah. This character is reflected in a series of conferences at the Jean-Jacques Henner museum. Edith de Belleville, author and lawyer, will tell us how Sarah Bernhardt became her life coach. In a conference entitled "The Divine on the Divan" the psychoanalyst Emma Scali will evoke Sarah's psyche by inviting us to go behind the mirror. The art historian Véronique Proust will talk about Sarah and men. I wanted people to hear this body which did not serve her but which she knew how to embellish. The historian writer Jean-Pierre Guéno will talk about internal disagreements. He has reconstructed a diary of his rebellions and passions. Benoit Giraud, a graduate of the École du Louvre, will give a lecture on the homes of Sarah Bernhardt and how she staged her life, both inside and out. Finally, the historian Ronan Naudin created a story about Sarah Bernhardt in Belle-Ile-en-Mer from the chronicles of the time. Finally, at the Church of Saint-François de Salle, in the seventeenth arrondissement, where his funeral took place, a concert will be given by a quartet conducted by Michelle Tellier, soloist of Les Arts florissants. In addition to this programme, there are guided tours, walks, period literary dinners at the Sarah Bernhardt brasserie, place du Châtelet… Each event is an invitation to dive back into history. Our goal is to reach all audiences, and the greatest number, almost all events being free.", Laurence Cohen. 

Exhibitions on the occasion of the centenary

• Au Petit Palais "And the woman created the star"
  Thanks to nearly 400 works, the exhibition looks back on the life and career of the actress through her wardrobe and her objects, but also her activities as a painter, writer and sculptor.From April 14 to August 27 .
• Au Jean Jacques Henner Museum
  Through archives linked to the actress and loaned portrait photos, a place of honor in the form of a mini hanging. In this Plaine Monceau, which she helped to make "the most artistic of artists' quarters", Sarah Bernhardt was a neighbor of Guillaume Dubufe, whose private mansion would later become the Henner Museum. From March 22 to June 26.

More on the program in Paris then Belle-Ile-en-Mer: www.2023sarahdanstoussetats.fr

Watch Laurence Cohen's interview