From 07 to 10 July 2025, we will be welcoming Andrea Vida and Martina Villani from the Kon Tiki 33 company for an artistic residency for their creative project entitled "Coulobres, la légende retrouvée du dragon de Fontaine-de-Vaucluse" ("Coulobres, the rediscovered legend of the dragon of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse").

This shadow theatre show brings back to life the Provençal legend of the Coulobre, less well known than that of the Tarasque or the Drac. Based on a collection of testimonies and stories and on bibliographical and historical research, the Kon Tiki 33 company will tell the story of Jean Marqueton. This 17th-century hunter, on his way to the chasm to hunt a hare, came face to face with a terrifying creature that he thought was the Devil, but which Canon Gaspard de Grasse interpreted as being reminiscent of the Coulobre. This legendary water dragon, mother of the spotted salamanders, was chased out of the Sorgue at Fontaine-de-Vaucluse by Saint Véran, before petrifying in the Alps; but it is said that, on moonless and starless nights, the Coulobre comes back to life and flies back to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse to find its salamanders.

During their artistic residency at the Théâtre de la Massue, the Kon Tiki 33 company will have the opportunity to work on the mechanisms, silhouettes and materials of their show, and to exchange ideas with our team and other guest artists to deepen and enrich the dramaturgy of the play, which will premiere on 27 September 2025 as part of Provençal Week in Avignon.

Illustration image: Kon Tiki 33, "Coulobres, the rediscovered legend of the dragon of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse".