A Dantesque transformation is announced for the future of the Alès Crater

Le Cratère, une fois rénové, sera orné d’une nouvelle salle en partie en bois à l’étage. Midi Libre – Alexis BETHUNE

La scène nationale d’Alès a présenté, ce mercredi 8 janvier, les détails de son projet de rénovation.

It was during his now traditional mid-season presentation, this Wednesday on the main stage of the Cratère, that Olivier Lataste presented the details, particularly awaited by the public, of the major renovation phase of the theater which requires it to close the premises for two years.

Wood and glass to enhance the concrete

With, on stage, the president of the Agglo Christophe Rivenq, project owner, the director of the Cratère presented what will be transformed. For the hall, the ticket office, currently on the left when you enter, “will move to the right”. The rest of the hall will be fully configured: “The current stairs upstairs will be destroyed, and rebuilt at the back of the hall”, along the wall of the doors leading to the great hall. The current bar area will be relocated in place of the current stairs, and will be replaced by an elevator allowing disabled people to reach the balconies, “which is currently not possible”.

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In the renovated hall, the counter, accessible to disabled people, will be located to the left of the entrance. Midi Libre – Alexis BETHUNE

In the lobby, the dining area will be on the left. Upstairs, windows will replace the concrete railings. Midi Libre – Alexis BETHUNE

The upper floor should also find a new lease of life. The concrete railings will be transformed into glass to enlarge the space. The “jar”, ​​a meeting room located just above the main entrance, will be destroyed and rebuilt. A new oval and framed room, with solid wood beams, was to provide a new multi-purpose space that could be used for meetings or small performances. “It's going to feel good, the director is impatient. This architecture will offer a new opening onto the city.” In the main hall, the stage will be reduced, “the proscenium (stage arch, editor's note) will disappear”. This will allow for the addition of “up to 60 more seats in the front rows”, but also for the stage to be slightly lowered in relation to the spectators.

Behind the scenes, all the machinery, entirely manual but soon no longer up to standard, will be replaced and computerized. With the insulation work, the most expensive but the greatest need of the building, the project is currently estimated at €12.19 million.

The reopening of the fully renovated Crater is planned, on paper, for the summer of 2027.

A temporary theater next to the nautical center

In April, Alès Agglo, which bought the structure, will set up a 480-seat marquee theatre on the Maurice-Laurent stadium, next to the Toboggan water sports centre, “or more because the stage will be adaptable”, Olivier Lataste explains. With a reception area and a snack bar, this temporary theatre will be accessible via the Chemin des Sports, which goes around the Pibarot stadium. “We will install a luminous Ariadne's thread in the street. Spectators will only have to park on the fairground and walk to the theater nearby.”

This off-site theater will be the heart of the Cratère for the 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 cultural seasons. Two seasons whose programs will certainly be slightly reduced due to the situation. But “we will have evenings, highlights,” promises Olivier Lataste. “We will have more family events, more music, more circuses. We want to offer two future seasons full of happiness.”

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