The project
Fresnes on Stage is an artistic practice program for incarcerated individuals, developed within the framework of the Cultural Integration Pathway of the SPIP 94 (Prison Integration and Probation Service of Val-de-Marne).
Its aim is to foster resocialization and support reintegration through hands-on experience in theatre arts and intensive artistic workshops. Over the course of three months, the program includes 28 workshop sessions (three hours each, three times a week) led by two professional actors inside the Fresnes prison.
This year, the theme of love will be explored using a range of materials including literary texts, dramatic excerpts, letters, and audio recordings, guided by professional actors Juliette Coulon and Romain Dutheil.
An initial presentation is held within the prison chapel for prison staff, a sentence enforcement judge, and fellow inmates. Two additional performances—authorized as exceptional outings—are scheduled on the stage of the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe (June 8, 2026) and at Théâtre 71 in Malakoff, a partner venue (on May 26 or June 5, 2026).
Nearly 800 spectators are expected to attend.
By supporting Fresnes on Stage, the Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund helps promote resocialization through theatre in a prison setting, brings forward the voices of incarcerated individuals around the theme of love, and reimagines the stage as a space for fraternity, healing, and shared humanity.
Since March 1990, the Théâtre national de l'Odéon has been known as the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe. At the center of contemporary artistic creation, its mission is to showcase the greatest directors of today and tomorrow, with a particular focus on European and international creation since 1983. As a national theater, the Odéon seeks to share its artistic excellence with an increasingly diverse audience. Currently directed by Julien Gosselin, the theater has a number of projects aimed at audiences far removed from culture, including prison populations.