Le Serment d'Europe (Europa's Pledge), a tragedy written and directed by Wajdi Mouawad, comes to the Comédie de Genève. Seven performances run from Friday 4 to Friday 11 December 2026.
The story
The play premiered on 1 August 2025 at the ancient theatre of Epidaurus, in Greece. It was part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival programme.
The project began with an invitation from Katerina Evangelatos, the festival's director. For several years she has commissioned texts inspired by Greek tragedy.
Wajdi Mouawad revived an earlier monologue project intended for Andrée Lachapelle, his former teacher. The text, first titled L'Amour (Love), became Le Serment d'Europe (Europa's Pledge).
The author wrote the play during rehearsals. He drew on conversations with Anne-Claire Legendre, Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge and Delphine Meillet.
At the premiere, the cast included Juliette Binoche, Violette Chauveau, Danai Epithymiadi, Daria Pisareva, Leora Rivlin and Emmanuel Schwartz.
Wajdi Mouawad was born in Lebanon in 1968. He lived in France, then in Quebec until the early 2000s.
He wrote Incendies (Scorched), Littoral (Tideline) and Forêts (Forests). He has run La Colline – théâtre national in Paris since April 2016.
He received the Académie française Grand Prix for theatre in 2009. He held the annual chair at the Collège de France in 2025.
Who organises it
The Comédie de Genève hosts the show. It is produced by the Athens Epidaurus Festival, with La Colline – théâtre national as executive producer.
What to find
The play follows Europa, an eight-year-old girl who witnesses a massacre committed by her own people and takes part in it. Seventy-five years later, an inquiry compels her to testify.
The text draws on Greek mythology, notably Medea and Europa. It explores the memory of a crime, silence and the passing of trauma between generations.
An international cast performs in French, Greek, English and Russian, on an almost bare stage.
The creative team includes Emmanuel Clolus on set design, Charlotte Farcet on dramaturgy and Laurent Schneegans on lighting.
Practical information
- Dates, Friday 4 to Friday 11 December 2026
- Times, Friday 4 December at 7.30 pm, Saturday 5 at 6 pm, Sunday 6 at 3 pm, Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 at 8 pm, Friday 11 at 2.30 pm
- Duration, 2 hours 15 minutes, no interval
- Venue, La Comédie de Genève, Esplanade Alice-Bailly 1, 1207 Geneva
- Price, CHF 5 to CHF 40
- Age, 16 and over
- Tickets, billetterie.comedie.ch, +41 22 320 50 01
Links
- Official site of the Comédie de Genève
- Event page, City of Geneva
- All events across French-speaking Switzerland, Genève Infos Agenda
Sources
- City of Geneva, event page, accessed on 14 November 2026
- Geneva Tourism, event page, accessed on 14 November 2026
- La Colline – théâtre national, press kit, accessed on 14 November 2026
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