Theatre of Operations

by Ed Alcock for La Comedie de Saint-Etienne

During the winter of 2015, I was invited to document the construction of a new theater in the city of Saint-Etienne. The theater is being built on the site of the former Stéphanoise de Construction Mécanique, an edifice which is emblematic of the city's glorious industrial past, and of its more recent decline.

For months, the site became a gigantic theatrical stage and the workers became the actors of the first show. The Nouvelle Comedie de Saint-Etienne is the cornerstone of a huge project of urban renewal being undertaken by the city.