Compagnie Léla: Europe Is Already Taking Shape in Bourges

What does a European Capital of Culture look like before its title year? Artists travelling, works crossing borders, languages meeting and partnerships taking shape – sometimes several years before the big event.

As an associated company of Bourges 2028, Compagnie Léla is fully involved in this process. Through its productions, international collaborations and exchanges with European partners, it is already bringing to life one of the ambitions at the heart of Bourges 2028: making artistic creation a space for dialogue between territories and cultures.

Creating with Europe: the European Pocket Theatres

Among the projects led by the company, the European Pocket Theatres hold a special place. This series of sound-based creations brings together artists from different European countries to share their writing and creative worlds.

Designed as spaces for close interaction between artists and audiences, these events embody the spirit of Bourges 2028: a programme open to Europe, attentive to new forms of writing and contemporary narratives.

It is within this framework that Compagnie Léla is currently developing a new French-Norwegian production.

Preparing a European Production: Heading to Norway

This month, the team travelled to Norway to meet with several cultural, artistic and institutional partners around Philharmonia, a new play by Norwegian playwright Fredrik Brattberg. The week of meetings and discussions laid the foundations for a production to be presented in both France and Norway in 2028, as part of Bourges 2028.

The exchanges explored contemporary writing, sound creation, multilingualism and the different ways of developing a shared artistic work across several countries.

Through meetings with Vega Scene, Dramatikkens Hus, Nationaltheatret, the Embassy of Norway in France and the Institut français in Oslo, a strong network of partners has taken shape around the future project.

This mobility was made possible through the European Culture Moves Europe programme, supported by the European Union and the Goethe-Institut. The company also benefited from the “Top-up Family” scheme, which promotes more inclusive artistic mobility by enabling artists to travel with their families.

Discover the sound clips created during this journey to the Land of the Midnight Sun: here

Bringing European Networks to Life: A Visit to Romania

A few weeks later, Compagnie Léla was invited to the Grand Prix Nova Romania – International Radio Drama Festival in Bucharest.

As a member of the international jury, the company discovered radio productions by professionals from across Europe, while representing France with its audio series Thèbes.3, selected for the official competition in the “Audio Series” category.

The trip also provided an opportunity to continue the work initiated with the Institut français in Bucharest and further strengthen the European collaborations of the Bourges-based company.

Building a Europe of Culture Today

This momentum will continue to grow over the coming months. For the 2026–2027 season, Compagnie Léla is joining the PARI! programme, led by the French Ministry of Culture’s Directorate-General for Artistic Creation (DGCA) and On the Move.

This support will help structure and develop the company’s European collaborations towards 2028 and beyond.

By building lasting connections with artists, institutions and cultural venues across Europe, Compagnie Léla demonstrates that Bourges 2028 is not being prepared solely on stage. Another reminder that a European Capital of Culture is built through encounters, mobility, shared creations and projects that cross borders long before 2028.