L'Effet de Serge
Philippe Quesne – remember that name! Within a short space of time he
has already become one of the favourite performers in international
theatre. This has to do with the highly visual nature of his work, but
also with the humorous way he portrays our species. We will be
presenting two productions in one week: L'Effet de Serge and Big Bang. Two dates to mark on your calendar.
In his flat, a character called Serge puts together mini-performances of one to three minutes that are full of special effects. On Sundays he shows them to a few friends. The laconic Serge finds everyday life just as exciting as a gathering of inventors. In this production, the rituals of modern life become little ceremonies, comical and playful and full of sour laughs.
‘a haunting piece of metatheater as exquisitely
detailed as a Persian miniature … the toast of festivals from Avignon to
Reykjavik’
Time Out New York
‘De courtes séquences drôles, poétiques et oniriques, dans une veine délicieusement critique.’
les inrockuptibles
The French theatre-maker Philippe Quesne, together with the loyal companions at his Vivarium Studio, have since 2003 been working on a small but consistent oeuvre in which they combine theatre, art and music to create mildly ironic, cartoon-like performances. In early 2010 we showed La mélancholie des dragons, which De Morgen at the time praised as ‘an absolute masterpiece’.
concept, direction, design Philippe Quesne | with Gaëtan Vourc’h, Isabelle Angotti, Rodolphe Auté and local guests | music excerpts André Prévin, Gillian Hills, Howe Gelb, Sophia Loren, Wagner, John Cage, The Patriotic Sunday, Sparklehorse, Colleen, Antoine Duhamel, Willy Deville, Arnold Goland, Abbc, Vic Chesnutt, Led Zeppelin, José Feliciano,... | production Vivarium Studio | co-production Ménagerie de Verre (Paris) | support Le Forum – scène conventionnée de Blanc-Mesnil and Festival actOral montévidéo (Marseille) | Vivarium Studio is supported by DRAC Ile de France (French Ministry of Culture) | performances at Kaaitheater supported by Institut français – Ministères des Affaires étrangères et européennes
