20 years of shows at the Grange de Dorigny

The space at La Grange is reminiscent of the Théâtre du Jorat at Mézières, also known as the "Grange sublime", born almost a century earlier. What was to become the University of Lausanne's auditorium was coverted as a performance venue shortly after the Rectorate was moved to Dorigny in 1981. Theatre companies and musical ensembles soon sought the privilege of transforming this academic venue into a performance space, with its original architecture and remarkable acoustics. The Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne recorded its albums here until the arrival of the Métro. Very soon, the venue's thematic vocation became clear. Applications poured in. The Social Services Department, which became the Socio-Cultural Affairs Department, was responsible for sorting them out. After ten years, a professional theatre season was set up. It would take another ten years to transform a university space into a fully-fledged theatrical venue and to develop a policy based on the relationship between the academic and the cultural. Subsequently, the management of UNIL will set out the main lines of a genuine cultural policy for the University in its plan of intent, thus recognising the colossal work carried out by the La Grange team.

For the twentieth anniversary of the Grange's "seasons", the UNIL Archives Service wanted to open the picture book of more than 500 shows and concerts that have taken place in this venue, which is now part of the cultural heritage of the canton of Vaud.

The Grange de Dorigny archive database was compiled in 2012, thanks to the transfer of the Grange's archive holdings on the occasion of the 20th cultural season. As well as the notices and cast, it contains a selection of posters, programmes, photos and films of shows and concerts given at the Grange de Dorigny since 1982. The Grange de Dorigny website provides access to the archives for seasons from 2004 onwards.