The show
The Scénoféerie in Semblançay
The splendid historical show will take place this summer in Semblançay, 15 km north from Tours. The stage space is located in the park of the dwelling of Jacques de Beaune, superintendent of Finance of François I of France.
Let yourself be captivated by a time travel from the Gallo-Roman period to the French Revolution and listen our storytellers, Honoré Pottier and his grandson Benjamin, who will relive the history and the legend of the Spring.
The professors
1850 : As the industrial development is changing the world, two researchers, doctors Charcellay and Giraudet, find evidence of a distant past and travel back in time ...
The Gallo-Romans
Beneath the sky of the Loire, the governor Marcellus welcomes the centurion Cerialis.
They both recall the benefits of Roman settlement that brings peace and prosperity to the Touraine countryside.
The easy living reigns, lulled by the murmuring water that feeds the baths of the villa and irrigates the flourishing crops it dominates ...
Foulques Nerra and the crusades
At the end of the 10th century, in Tours, the pope Urbain proclaims the holy crusade. Processions of pilgrims and crusader troops draw their fervour from the pure water of the Spring.
The peasants live torn between the fear of God and the fearsome warrior Foulque Nerra, a conqueror of territories, a builder of castles and abbeys, a crusader, torturing and killing in his path. At the end of his life he is remorseful and he fears God too ...
The Medieval scene
Life has very little value in the Middle Ages. When death isn't lurking near them, the nobles and peasants need to celebrate. The courtiers dance in their beautiful finery. The Knights on their fiery steeds show bravery during colourful tournaments. Clowns and acrobats delight the court with their shows. Finally joy reigns, allowing the people to profit from these moments...
The Great Plague does not differentiate between the peasants or the powerful. Carts travel through the towns and villages every day, collecting the dead and taking them to the funeral pyre...
The Renaissance
Francis I initiates Italian art into France. Renaissance combines richness and beauty in all its creative forms. At his estate Jacques de Beaune, Superintendent of Finance, gives a great feast in his honour. A pool, like a mirror, reflects the splendour of the court and collects the water rising in the hollow of a rock at the foot of the stately home ...
The eighteenth century
Pedlars arrive at Semblançay. They come from Paris, where in the mid-eighteenth century, great minds profess new ideas, uncompromising for a powerful kingdom. While with their words philosophers echo the humblest ...
The Revolution
Long suppressed, the revolt breaks out. The murmur is rumbling and newly born. The flow, red with the blood of fighting, bears the clamour of a people risen to win their freedom.
The Final
Grandfather ends his story and leads his little grandson Benjamin to the source, witness of history, passions, fears and hopes. They go into an imaginary and magical world. Characters from all eras meet those of today in a deluge of music, lights and fire. What a Spectacle!