History
Malérargues is a hamlet located in the Cévennes hills of Occitanie, southern France. Following the arrival of the Roy Hart Theatre company in 1974, the Association loi 1901 was created and Malérargues became place of residence and a sheltered work environment for vocal exploration in pursuit of a deeper understanding of life and art. Later, in 1992, the Roy Hart Theatre became the Centre Artistique International Roy Hart.
The Château de Malérargues, like the Cévennes region, is renowned for its spirit of independence. It was here that the Camisards resisted under Louis XIV. On the façade of the château, a plaque honours the memory of Robert Francisque, one of the leaders of the Maquis de Lasalle, who was involved in numerous sabotage operations and was shot by the Nazis.
We love this vibrant place, alive with stories, history, and human dreams. This passion is at the heart of the Malérargues Endowment Fund. Our voice work echoes Malérargues’ historical spirit of independence.
Alfred Wolfsohn (1896-1962), a German Jew and veteran of World War I, emerged from the war a broken man, and developed the body of work he called “Human Voice” as an act of resilience. He fled Nazi Germany and settled in London where Roy Hart met him in 1947. The young South African actor abandoned a promising career in commercial theatre to study with Wolfsohn. Following Wolfsohn’s death in 1962, Roy Hart continued this research. By the late 1960s, he was producing avant-garde plays in London with his company.
Between 1974 and 1975, all 47 members of the Roy Hart Theatre moved from London to Malérargues. Despite precarious living conditions, they restored the buildings whilst also creating the production “L’Économiste”. In May 1975, during a tour of the performance, Roy Hart, Dorothy Hart, and Vivienne Young died in a car accident. Their deaths were an immense human and artistic loss, with heavy financial repercussions. The artists of the Roy Hart Theatre considered giving up and returning to London.
They decided to resist...
Malérargues in 1974. ©Ivan Midderigh, 2022
Malérargues was once a hamlet in ruins. It has now become a nucleus of international constellations, dedicated to research, teaching, creation, and recreation, welcoming students, researchers, and artists from all over the world to discover unique approaches to the voice that can be used as much in everyday life as in the performing arts, music, and theatre.
Exploration of the human voice without boundaries is rooted in the deep connection between the person's voice and their body, breath, imagination, and psyche. The unique multiplicity of each and every voice is acknowledged.
Malérargues today: An international centre for research inspired by Alfred Wolfsohn, Roy Hart, and the Roy Hart Theatre © Ivan Midderigh, 2022
This revolutionary approach is now recognized worldwide and is taught in numerous universities and artistic companies.
Today, the Malérargues Endowment Fund seeks to preserve the Malérargues estate as a protected site where people can work on the embodied voice, imagination, and soul and ...
... continue to resist!
Through patronage, the Malérargues Endowment Fund will allow for the financing of projects of general interest, notably cultural activities, whilst preserving the use of the Malérargues estate for activities related to the research, exploration, and training of the human voice without boundaries.
Currently, the Société Civile Immobilière Fondation de Malérargues is the owner of the Malérargues estate and is administered by managers appointed by its shareholders. The association Centre Artistique International Roy Hart is a tenant of this SCI. It runs an important educational and cultural programme, manages the Malérargues studios and provides accommodation for visiting artists, researchers and students. As a privileged partner of the Fonds de Dotation, the Centre Artistique International Roy Hart makes an essential contribution to the ecosystem of the estate. Other historical associations such as Pantheatre and Dia Pason are also valuable collaborators. New projects such as the Tumultes Festival welcome an even wider audience.
What we see today in Malérargues is the fruit of more than 100 years of research, study and practice of the voice. The founders of the Malérargues Endowment Fund wish to preserve and pass on this rich cultural heritage to future generations.
By making a donation, you are participating in this project, this vision, this hope.
