La Rose des Vents

Basile et le maléfice, 1994, SAPA Foundation, La Rose des Vents collection

An important chapter in Swiss theater history in the SAPA collections

Stock stored in

Lausanne

The SAPA Foundation recently acquired the holdings of the La Rose des Vents puppet theater, an innovative theater group that was active in Lausanne from 1967 to 2001. The extensive collection (approx. 1.8 linear meters) documents the history of the group and over forty productions through a variety of archive materials: play texts, stage and figure designs, correspondence and a comprehensive press collection on tours and projects. This is supplemented by audiovisual media that have yet to be catalogued. The documentation carefully compiled by Suzanne and Daniel Brunner will also enable the performing-arts.ch database to be expanded with new entries on the group's productions.

La Rose des Vents was founded in Lausanne by Françoise Ostermann, Daniel Brunner (administrator, director, puppet maker) and Suzanne Brunner (set designer, author). The group developed an original, sophisticated approach to puppet theater and presented their works throughout French-speaking Switzerland between 1967 and 2001, mainly for schools. Their repertoire included fairy tale adaptations for children such as L'Oiseau (1987), Basile et le maléfice (1994) and La Cavale des clowns (1997) as well as two plays for adults: Rien que la vérité (1983) and Le Piège (1987).

The group performed at various festivals, including the 1974 International Puppet Theater Festival at the Théâtre de Vidy with the play Vert-de-pomme. La Rose des Vents also organized its own puppet theatre festivals for adults in 1981 and 1983, before finding a permanent venue in the auditorium of the Collège des Bergières in Lausanne.

The artistic quality of the group also attracted international attention: in 1985, they were invited by Polish director Wieslaw Hejno to perform in Poland and teach at the puppet theater school in Wroclaw.

The theater's collection of puppets was handed over to the Swiss Puppet Museum in Fribourg, which presented an exhibition entitled Le Théâtre de la Rose des Vents : 35 ans de marionnettes in 2023.

The archives preserved by the SAPA Foundation are a valuable resource for documenting this formative theater group and its significance for the development of puppet theater in French-speaking Switzerland.