In the Garden of the New People's Theater Overview They wanted to create a theater that reflected their own vision, a freer theater, closer to its audience. So they built a wooden stage under the benevolent shade of a twisted church steeple, in the garden of a small village in Maine-et-Loire, Fontaine-Guérin. And the dream of a New People's Theater took shape amidst the fields. This is the story of a generation of actors in their thirties who have grown old together and who, ten years later, are realizing the audacity and fragility of their dream. For its tenth season, the company tackles Balzac's *Human Comedy* and plunges us into the torments and illusions of their lives as artists through the outlandish tale of Lucien de Rumbempré, a young poet who dreams of going to Paris. How can an artist avoid losing their soul? Therein lies the inner conflict. Xavier Liébard Director, Writer