The stories of a region’s inhabitants, collected by three cross-border writers, are brought to life on stage to tell an authentic story of the small village of Thil, located between Villerupt and Hussigny-Godbrange.

Thanks to the Interreg project ATRACT-AB, the Community of Municipalities “Pays Haut Val d’Alzette”, the UNESCO Biosphere Minett and the town of Esch-sur-Alzette want to define a strategy for the ecological and social transition of the cultural sector in the territory of Esch2022 – European Capital of Culture. As part of this Interreg project, a number of events will be organised on both sides of the border, following the guidelines for transition developed during the three years of this European project.

One of these events is the “Stammdësch”. The first “Stammdësch” will allow participants to (re)discover the small village of Thil. Created by the cross-border collective of dramatic writers “Le Gueuloir” for the European Capital of Culture year, the project will be revived for three new adventures in three different locations between now and 2026.

Experienced in September, told in December

The first edition of this new “Stammdësch” series of meetings took place from September 23 to 28, 2024. Author Laure Roldàn and writers Jeff Schinker and Serge Basso De March settled at a table in Café Le Penalty in Thil for a week-long residency, dedicated to listening, observing, and collecting testimonies.

They met the inhabitants of the isolated village of Thil, situated in the heart of the Alzette-Belval cross-border region. Invited into this setting, they became regulars of the same table, their “Stammdësch,” where numerous encounters took place to collect intimate words and life stories. It was around this “meeting point” that Le Gueuloir gathered citizens’ voices, drawing from urban legends, counter anecdotes, and local tales.

After their residency in this bistro—the only remaining café still open in the village—they had a month to write one or more texts for the stage. These texts will be brought to life by theater director Jean Boillot, former director of NEST, who will voice the works—accompanied by performers—and stage them at Café Le Penalty on December 6, 2024.

This staging of the “Stammdësch” of Thil will be a unique event not to be missed. The performance will begin at 7 PM, and admission is free.