French company founded in Amiens in 1979 by Georges and Michèle Baillon and directed since 1989 by their daughter, director Sylvie Baillon (Amiens, 1960). The repertoire of Ches Panses Vertes focuses at first on tales: La Soupe à cailloux, La Petite Sirène aux allumettes, Aucassin et Nicolette (Pebble Soup, The Little Match Mermaid, Aucassin and Nicolette). The company then explores the relationship between contemporary texts, the actor (especially with Éric Goulouzelle) and puppets, performing shows for adult audiences: Dieu est absent des champs de bataille (God is Absent from Battlefields, 1990) written by Blaise Cendrars and Guillaume Apollinaire; Yassanga, bienvenue, homme simple (Welcome Yassanga, Mere Man, 1993) by Raymond Godefroy; Le Retable de l’avarice de la luxure et de la mort (The Altarpiece of Greed, Lust and Death, 1995) by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán; Le Jeu du roi (The King’s Game, 1997), based on William Shakespeare’s King Lear; Samain (1999), an opera taken from a libretto by Catherine Zambon; La Scie patriotique (The Patriotic Saw, 2000) by Nicole Caligaris; Drames brefs 2 (Short Dramas 2, 2002) by Philippe Minyana.

However, Ches Panses Vertes does not overlook young audiences with their productions that include Madame, t’es vieille (Madam, You’re Old, 1996), Samainuscule (2001), Coâ encore! (2003).

In Picardy, the company fulfils an important role with artistic endeavours and support for creativity. In 2004, Ches Panses Vertes also launched the Festival Marionnettes en Chemin (On the Road Puppet Festival).

(See France.)