YOU’RE NOT 100 YEARS OLD EVERY DAY!

The celebration of the Centenaire du Musée National de Préhistoire in Les Eyzies was a great success because it was very well thought out in advance. The people who organised it called upon the appropriate skilful collaborators. Nathalie Fourment, Docteur en Préhistoire and directrice du Musée National de Préhistoire, thanked them warmly when delivering her historical speech. She had a brainwave, a very bright idea: chartering a steam locomotive dated of the time the Musée National was created in the old village Les Eyzies de Tayac. It carried away the crowd, thrilled to hear that old train whir and whistle in the Vallée de la Vézère. The program for that very special anniversary day was rich and varied: visiting public and private prehistoric deposits, guided by the expert lecturers from the Centre des Monuments nationaux, rediscovering the collections of the Musée decrypted by the students of Bordeaux Universirty prehistory department, film projections in the auditorium, and meetings with the scientific team of the Musée, particularly round the corner of the new path outdoor, giving new and due attention to the cliffs and the ancient « château-musée », one of its oldest exhibition rooms having been carefully reorganised.
As a foretaste, just to make us plunge back into a century, a musical and theatrical journey from the station to the Musée was conceived and staged by Christian Taponard, with science advisor Eléonore de Castro, rendering the wonder felt by people 100 and even 150 years ago, as Prehistory bravely showed up again, under the pickaxe blows when the major works started in the second part of the XIXth century. A live show performed with emotional intensity all along the cliff, entitled: « Le 30 septembre 1923 aux Eyzies ou la Folle Journée – Impromptu théâtral en déambulation pour une commémoration. » (« sept 30, 1923 in Les Eyzies or The Extraordinary Crazy Day – A wandering theatrical Impromptu for a celebration »).
Once again let us invite you here to get on board that train of happiness; for your own pleasure it will unroll dreamlike tracking shots on the cliff that shelters the Musée National de Préhistoire. You will enjoy watching and listening to some excerpts of « La Folle Journée » * written by Christian Taponard: « Ici tous les cailloux ont la nostalgie de la Préhistoire ! ». ( « Here every single stone feels nostalgic about Prehistory ».) You will have time to listen to the speech by Nathalie Fourment, the worthy heir of founder Denis Peyrony. Can we suggest you browse through the souvenir photo album of that beautiful day, of the grandeur of a place famous throughout the whole world and closer to us than ever.

Sophie Cattoire
grand reporter

Traduction Jacques SARABEN
avec sa tendresse pour son amour de toujours
Valérie SARABEN dont il poursuit l'œuvre.

* « on sept 30, 1923 in Les Eyzies or La Folle Journée (« The Extraordinary Crazy Day »), a wandering theatrical Impromptu for a celebration » with Antoine Houdard in the role of Théodore Pierre Delavigne, mayor of Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, Sylvie Mège playing the part of Armande-Annabelle-Désirée Delavigne, the mayor’s mother, Lola Dubin in the role of Léopoldine Bouyssou, a waitressin l’Hôtel Cro Magnon and Christian Taponard in the rôle of Georges Bordas, a free-thinking vagrant « chemineau » who took part in the excavations of Le Moustier and La Madeleine. Musicians are David Gourvat playing the clarinet and bass clarinet and Yannick Guedec playing the accordion.