Today, the Seelinger Arts Foundation shines a spotlight on Christelle Celerier, an artist who embodies theatre as a sacred, vibrant, and deeply sincere art form.
An unexpected path to the stage
Originally passionate about dance and opera, Christelle admits she once disliked theatre, finding it too artificial and detached from true emotion. However, in 2007, while working at the French lycée in Delhi, a panic attack during a speech changed her relationship with the stage. Her encounter with director Anne Bressanges proved decisive: encouraged to step onto the stage, Christelle discovered theatre as a space of inner voice and emotional trance.
The birth of a collective in Bangkok
In 2015, upon arriving in Bangkok, she learned that the local French-speaking theatre troupe had just disbanded. Refusing to let her newfound passion fade, she co-founded Le Théâtre des Invités (TDI) with a few fellow enthusiasts. Today, the collective brings together over 40 members, 4 directors, and organizes several performances each year in collaboration with the Alliance Française of Bangkok, the French International School, and other cultural venues.
A theatre of movement, emotion, and sacred ritual
For Christelle, theatre naturally extends from writing, movement, music, and mime. Inspired by Pina Bausch, she seeks to create a resonance between the artist’s inner world and the stage, leading the audience toward deep and liberating emotions. Each creation is, for her, an invocation, a prayer to the gods of theatre, a ritual that reaffirms the vital energy of live performance.
For Christelle Celerier, theatre is no longer a static art — it is the art of the living, a space of free and essential expression.
