[Presenter] As festival season arrives, let's get concrete and move to Avignon.

We have an interview this evening with actrice Emmanuelle Laborit.

In 1993, she received the Molière for best theatre newcomer, you may remember,

for her extraordinary performance in "Les enfants du silence" [adapted from "Children of a Lesser God"]

Today, she is here to talk about another very ambitious project:

let hearing people applaud a work entirely interpreted in sign language.

A report by our special envoys Dominique Poncet and Marc Félix.

[Interpreter] Many foreigners come to the Avignon festival

and actually, we feel a bit like a foreign actors' company.

We want to talk about our culture in this way, to show it.

And it's true, it's a bit of a mad gamble.

Its a bit mad because Thierry was completely committed to creating this piece

in French Sign Language: it's not easy.

[Journalist] with other deaf-mute actors like herself,

Emmanuelle Laborit came to Avignon to take up a challenge:

let people listen to Sophocles' Antigone without the support of speech.

Why this bet?

To free her deaf actor colleagues from the roles

they are usually typecast in.

To also show the extraordinary richness of deaf sensitivity

[Music]
("Antigone, after Sophocles)

[Music]

[Interpreter] As for me, my work is fighting.

I can therefore play various roles.

If a director wants to work with me, we can adapt anything,

We can do anything together. Anything is possible truly.

[music]

It's above all, a theatrical role: you use all the space

Because you need to know how to use the space

in ways that an actor really doesn't know how to.

You must learn to use facial expressions - these can be very subtile.

[music]

It took me a little while to adapt:

at the beginning I found it a little difficult - a little bit...

But now, it's all good, you know? I've got in the swing of things

And I've got completely used to living here; I could live in Avignon,