Patrick Chappatte, a internationally renowned editorial cartoonist, is now performing on stage in a show titled “Chappatte en scène, le spectacle dessiné” (Chappatte on stage, the drawn show).
Each morning, his pen stroke on the front page of the newspaper Le Temps sets the tone for the day’s news. Patrick Chappatte’s drawings challenge the world that isn’t always right, they make people smile and think. From the drawing studio to the stage, there seems to be just one step that Patrick Chappatte has decided to take – with his pencil – to offer his very first show, first at the Théâtre Boulimie in Lausanne, from January 23 to February 8, 2024, then on tour in Romandy.
In “Chappatte en scène, le spectacle dessiné,” the artist sketches the news from his desk while accompanied by his audience. He brings his first drawn characters to the stage. But also his spiritual grandfather, Daumier, a thorn in the side of judges and the king, an emblematic figure in the fight for press freedom.
A press cartoonist on stage, it’s probably a funny idea, but for Patrick Chappatte, it’s above all an opportunity to try new things. “One or two people talked to me, two years ago, about this idea of taking to the stage. In the long run, I thought they might have understood something that I hadn’t understood. It’s a real show, a one-man show made of drawings, images and words. I invite you to enter the head of an editorial cartoonist and to lift a corner of the curtain on the mystery of the creative process that still surprises me some days,” explains the cartoonist in La Matinale of January 5.
Society, current events, the small and big things that concern and excite us all: editorial cartooning is in line with our times and “Chappatte en scène, le spectacle dessiné” offers a reflection that is both humorous and serious. More than just a drawn press review, Patrick Chappatte’s show examines freedom of expression and social issues in a theatrical manner.
Live editorial cartooning on stage is a challenge for the cartoonist, but above all an experience. “One must let the magic of drawing speak for itself. The audience is truly interested in seeing the drawing being made. What is the place of humor? What is the place of the journalist? How does it make sense? I’ll try to share these thoughts with the audience in front of me. I find it to be an interesting experience,” says Patrick Chappatte.
“I deeply believe that editorial cartooning and humor are also a way of building society, even if it seems counterintuitive since there are examples of editorial cartoons that create controversies, divide, and even provoke violence at times. But it’s a reflection of our polarized society,” says the cartoonist. The show “Chappatte en scène, le spectacle dessiné” is a plea for freedom of expression and editorial cartooning, which is more threatened than ever at a time when controversies arise so easily, especially on social media.
Just like his drawings that provoke reactions for better and sometimes for worse, Chappatte’s ambition in his show is to make people laugh and smile, but also to make them think, because, as he himself says, “that is the deep power of editorial cartooning.”
Interview by Yann Amedro
Web adaptation: Lara Donnet
“Chappatte en scène, le spectacle dessiné,” Patrick Chappatte, Théâtre Boulimie, Lausanne (VD), from January 23 to February 8, 2024.
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