Jérôme Bel lives in Paris and works worldwide. Through his use of biography, Jérôme Bel politicizes his questions, aware as he is of the crisis involving the subject in contemporary society and the forms its representation takes on stage. In embryonic form in The show must go on, he deals with questions about what the theatre can be in a political sense—questions which come to the fore from Disabled Theater and Galaon. In offering the stage to non-traditional performers (amateurs, people with physical and mental handicaps, children...), he shows a preference for the community of differences over the formatted group, and a desire to dance over choreography, and duly applies the methods of a process of emancipation through art. No longer travelling by plane, for ecological reasons, Jérôme Bel and his company have developed new working practices for the creation and touring of their shows, such as rehearsals by teleconference, working with transcripts and video and collaboration with local choreographers and performers.

Katie Mitchell has made 100 shows over a thirty-year career spanning opera, theatre and live cinema. Her hallmark feminist work focuses on the female experience and a passion for formal experimentation. She is committed to finding new forms of theatre to tackle the subject of climate change. She has made two productions about the subject with scientists - Ten Billion (2012) with Stephen Emmott, presented at the Festival d’Avignon, and 2071 (2014) with Professor Chris Rapley both at The Royal Court Theatre. She has brought her environmental concerns to other concepts, including Lungs in 2013 at The Schaubühne (where the performers powered the electricity for the light and sound for their performance whilst acting the text) and Beckett’s Happy Days at The Hamburg Schauspielhaus (where she replaced earth with water and relocated the action of the play in the aftermath of an environmental disaster). Currently she is working on a version of The Cherry Orchard from the point of view of the trees, and a new show about the pandemics and ecology for the Schaubühne, Berlin. In 2012 Katie stopped flying in response to her work with the scientist, Stephen Emmott.

The Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne invites artists of different origins to create shows, often in co-production with international partners, which it then accompanies on an international tour. This production and touring activity induces a carbon footprint which the theatre team is committed to find ways of reducing. Beside reducing the numbers and distances of the travels, the Theatre Vidy-Lausanne is willing to explore new ways of making theatre. It is also reflecting on how to make the best use of its skills and its local and international position for activist purposes During the 19/20 season, it developed, with the philosopher of ecology Dominique Bourg, a cycle entitled Imagination of possible futures to think about the future, from the current situation of crisis, with the public, artists and researchers.

A scientific committee has been specifically set up for this project by Nelly Niwa, director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Sustainability of the University of Lausanne. The centre aims to federate, valorise, support and stimulate research and teaching on sustainability for the 7 faculties of the university and its 15’000 students. It develops transdisciplinary projects involving the collaboration from different researchers and actors in society. This multidisciplinary scientific committee is made of 7 female researchers, each expert of a different field:

• Clémence Demay, PhD in law (commitment to sustainability / civil disobedience)
• Diane LInder, PhD student in nature aesthetics
• Nelly Niwa, director of the Centre for Sustainability
• Pascale Schwab Castella, specialist of carbon assessment and life cycle analysis
• Julia Steinberger, professor of social challenges of climate and expert from IPCC
• Heidi Strebel, specialist of business rhetoric
• Miriam Tola, professor of environmental humanities