At an average age of 87, they star in a musical comedy

Les artistes jouent à guichet fermé… Midi Libre – JEROME MOUILLOT

At the Clermont Hospital Center nursing home, around fifteen residents and staff members of the facility have imagined a musical comedy in 17 scenes…

They are called Denise, Marie Rose, Christiane, Pierre or Louis, have an average age of 87… And are getting ready to play to a “sold out” show. And two days before the first performance of their musical, fifteen resident artists at the Clermont Hospital Center nursing home do not seem to suffer from the slightest stage fright. On the contrary, “I love singing, singing makes me happy”,smiles Pierre, one of the tenors of the show who will deliver a version of Mon Vieux, by Daniel Guichard and Emmenez-moi by Aznavour. At his side, Denise will perform “L’encre de tes yeux” or “Il vient d’avoir 18 ans”, (a duet with Etiennette)… For her, music is an escape: “It brings me a lot of comfort and an opening to everyone” , she says. With a sustained tempo, the 2-hour repertoire will not leave any downtime. Songs, video montages, voiceovers… The high-flying show covers, in 17 songs, the life journey of a character. And the paintings echo the lives of the performers.

A unifying show

Since this summer, these “budding singers” have been mobilized on this project. Two rehearsals per month, and a weekly vocal workshop punctuate their program with, in sight, this end-of-year show. Notably at the baton, Florian Charbonnier is an occupational therapist within the care team. Volunteer artist, singer at the heart of the duo “Le Parfums des roses”, he regularly performs in nursing homes to bring a musical interlude. Like a breath of fresh air. For him, this musical comedy project, at his place of work, was a natural fit in a structure of 120 beds. “These residents come from the three floors of the nursing home” , he notes. Because the project, in addition to its artistic dimension, is also, perhaps above all, an opportunity to break down barriers, to strengthen the links between residents but also with the care staff, with the volunteers… “And that gives even more meaning to our work”, appreciates Carole Galtier, a psycho patrician within the team. A unifying show in short that families will come to see this Thursday afternoon a few days before the holidays in a structure where the Christmas spirit is already blowing.

” Culture is part of good health”

This musical comedy project " It's the little cherry on the cake. But you have to make the cake every day. It's not just an animation but a global care project," contextualizes Florence Fries, director of the hospital. A show that resonates with the work around art therapy and the partnership that links the nursing home to the intercommunal theater of Sillon. “Culture is part of good health”, analyzes the director of the Hospital Center. &In the nursing home, as elsewhere…

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