Stopovers # In William the Conqueror’s Footsteps

A one-week performance created from local residents’ stories about the legacy of William the Conqueror. In Itinere Collectif presents a series of stopovers across Normandy.

What happens during a stopover?

The collective arrives on Monday and meets as many people as possible: local associations, farmers, town councillors, shopkeepers, schools, police officers, senior clubs, passers-by, and more.

From Monday to Wednesday, stories, anecdotes, habits, favourite places, and connections to the past are collected through conversations that sometimes last for hours, depending on how much local residents wish to share.

Then on Thursday and Friday, the collective imagines, writes, and rehearses a 75-minute performance inspired directly by these stories.

On Saturday, this unique, one-of-a-kind performance is presented to the whole town. Suitable for all audiences, it explores the community’s challenges, history, and aspirations through humour and poetry.

A stopover.

For this project, In Itinere Collectif focuses particularly on the legacy of William the Conqueror.

How does this history continue to shape lives today? Does the presence of this historical figure influence the relationship with the town, its history, or the wider region? If this legacy still affects the present, is it experienced as a source of pride, an honour, a responsibility, or a burden? And what about Queen Matilda? What place is given to her today? Is her story well known, or does it remain overshadowed by that of William?

Talking about William the Conqueror also means talking about life today. Who would be a William the Conqueror in the twenty-first century? Who would be Queen Matilda? How is this history passed on from one generation to the next? Borders have changed dramatically over the past thousand years. What brings people together today? What creates a shared culture? How is history written every day? Can the great narratives of history be understood through the smaller stories of ordinary lives?

Suitable for all audiences

Cooperation France / United Kingdom 

Partners: City of Falaise / Les Faltaisies Festival / City of Lillebonne / Juliobona Museum / City of Mondeville / Théâtre de la Renaissance, Mondeville / Rouen Normandy Metropolis / Atelier 231 CNAREP, Sotteville-lès-Rouen

Arts Council England / British Council / Institut Français du Royaume-Uni / Hastings Theatre Project / Battle Year of the Normans Committee Secretary / Canterbury Festival.