Two and a half years of construction work can really whet your appetite... and your curiosity! On September 23rd, LE ZEF – the national stage of Marseille – finally reopens its legendary Gare Franche with an XXL party, 100% free, featuring dance, live music, and… committed fresh pasta. Are we making your mouth water?
Lost (but not isolated) between the hills of Plan d'Aou and the port, La Gare Franche proudly displays its new walls after 30 months of construction. For the record, LE ZEF has been uniting two sites since 2019: Le Merlan and La Gare Franche, both labeled as national stages. In total, this network of about sixty establishments reaches more than 5 million spectators each year in France. In the 15th and 14th districts of Marseille, the impact is tangible: nearly 40,000 spectators attended LE ZEF in the last "pre-construction" season. It goes without saying that the locals were eager to return to "their" local cultural venue.
Tuesday, September 23, we pick up the kids at 4:30 PM to head to the Parcelle aux 4 Vents. Homemade snacks, free-range chickens, and a smoking bread oven set the scene. At 6 PM, we're off to the Usine du ZEF for TAKATAKA BOUM BOUM SHAH! – yes, we love the name – an impromptu musical performance by Ensemble C Barré featuring about fifty amateur musicians aged 9 to 65. And from 7 PM? We continue with the "Italian Opening": DJ set, live cooking, official speeches... All without spending a penny (reservation strongly recommended, space is limited).
It's impossible to talk about this evening without mentioning R·onde·s, the new show by choreographer Pierre Rigal. Surrounded by a group of eight performers, he breathes new life into the folkloric round dance, turning it into a whirlwind of pop and electroacoustic energy. On stage, bodies attract, repel, and seek each other out. The result is a collective ritual where one can shift in a matter of minutes from an almost tribal trance to the gentleness of a slow dance under the stars. A little piece of advice: save some energy, as the audience is often invited to join in the dance…
In Marseille, people speak loudly and eat well. The Italo-Marseillaise performer Floriane Facchini has understood this: she turns the preparation of pasta into a political act. Surrounded by the sfogline – these "pasta makers" who roll out the dough by hand – she cooks up a musical set punctuated with antifascist recipes. The reference? The communal meal served on July 25, 1943, in Emilia-Romagna to celebrate the fall of Mussolini. On the menu: flour, water, freedom. Between rolls of the pin, committed playlists mixed by Clément Martin make the Jardin de la Bastide resonate.
Since November 2024 (already!), Ensemble C Barré has been leading a Club Orchestra and an Orchestra at School in the neighboring Busserine district. Mandolins, cellos, percussion... Every week, these apprentice musicians gather at ZEF to rehearse. A telling statistic: 82% of participants claimed they had never set foot in a performance hall before the project. Now they are on stage, ready to present two original pieces by composer Amine Soufari. A guaranteed thrill for the families!
Yes, admission is free, and it's rare enough to be noted. Specifically:
- Free entry from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM (snacks & DJ warm-up).
- Starting at 7:00 PM, capacity is limited: consider booking online or at 04 91 11 19 20.
- Site is 100% accessible for people with reduced mobility, free parking, and bus stop 35 right in front.
Friendly advice: come early, the sunset over Plan d'Aou is worth the Insta photo.
ZEF is not just a pretty logo. It represents a cultural policy that focuses on both production and mediation. In 2023, 38% of the scheduled performances were in-house productions. At the same time, 11,000 schoolchildren participated in workshops. With the reopening of the Gare Franche, the national stage has doubled its rehearsal spaces, created an artists' foyer, and injected 1.2 million euros of economic benefits into the neighboring businesses according to the city's estimates.
It is known that the northern half of the Phocaean city suffers from a lack of cultural facilities. Rehabilitating La Gare Franche means providing a local hub for nearly 90,000 residents (within a 3 km radius). It also means activating a former 2-hectare agricultural estate – including a vegetable garden, country house, and chicken coop – for off-site artistic projects. In short: a breath of fresh air, culture, and community life, right when socio-economic indicators are sounding the alarm.
Sfogline: In Emilian dialect, this term refers to the women who, in trattorias, prepare fresh pasta dough by rolling it out. A skill that is part of Italy's culinary heritage.
National Scene: a state label that brings together 38 institutions dedicated to multidisciplinary creation and dissemination in their region.
R·onde·s: yes, the central dots are in the title: a visual nod to the circularity of the choreographic movement.
Author Audrey on 09 November 2023
Art and Culture : Literature
Author Audrey on 19 July 2023
Art and Culture : Museums