International Festival of Contemporary Theatre
Performances
Marking the 10th anniversary of Homo Novus, we have gathered 11 Latvian artists from various genres for a production of new small scale performances, installations or actions. These works will be based in the British theatre scholar Alan Read’s theory of “theatre as the last human venue” and structured as an event, unified in time and space.
In his book ‘Theatre, Intimacy and Engagement’, Alan Read writes: “The last human venue marks the location and moment of human beings’ awareness of their own eventual extinction. Performance, on the contrary, explores ways in which performance operates as an exciter of sentience, kick-starting our sense of being alive, acting as a pleasurable lengthening of device to extend our inevitable faith. Humans in this venue distinguish themselves from other animals through their experiencing of an extended childhood, in their ability to sustain a controlled, unbroken outward breath and by their unique capacity to aesthetically disappoint.”
‘The Last Human Venue’ programme includes performances by theatre directors Pēteris Krilovs, Vladislavs Nastavševs and Valters Sīlis, and the exhibition by directors Andrejs Jarovojs, Viesturs Meikšāns, set designers Monika Pormale, Izoldes Cēsniece, Reinis Suhanovs, fashion designers MAREUNROL’S and artistic collectives Nomadi and umka.lv.
Swamp Club
8 September 20:00 | Latvian Railway history museum | 10 and 7* Ls
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Vivarium Studio, Quesne once more corrals his polyglot performers to tell us about a rather useless cultural centre stuck in the backwoods.
Swamp Club is an urban fairytale set in the eerily peaceful environment of a lonely swamp peopled by odd creatures, animals, insects and sounds. One building has endured – the cultural centre. The performers are the artists-in-residence of this Swamp Club. A silent old man is the host and curator. He receives people from countries like Poland and Iceland as well as a chamber orchestra. As so often happens, this centre for the arts is threatened by a municipal construction project that would spell its destruction. The Swamp Club must defend itself.
About artist
Philippe Quesne was born in 1970 and studied visual arts, graphic design and set design in Paris. After ten years as s set designer for opera, concerts, theatre performances, and contemporary art exhibitions, in 2003 he created Vivarium Studio in Paris, a laboratory for theatrical innovation which features painters, actors, dancers, musicians and a dog. The performances of Philippe Quesne / Vivarium studio showcase simple yet fantastic images – an improvised amusement park in a deserted snowy landscape, explorers in potted plant jungles that re-enact the Big Bang, or a thirty-year-old Serge playing in his apartment with a toy car that draws circles with a sparkler. In his creations a childlike amazement in front of the magic of theater meets with a gentle melancholy about the limitations of mankind.
Vivarium Studio best known works include D’aprés Nature (2006), L’Effet de Serge (2007), La Mélancolie des Dragons (2008), Big Bang (2010).
Credits
Conceived, directed and designed by: Philippe Quesne
Artistic collaborators: Yvan Clédat, Cyril Gomez-Mathieu,Corine Petitpierre, Martin Argyroglo, Abigail Fowler, Thomas Legler
Cast: Isabelle Angotti, Snæbjörn Brynjarsson, Yvan Clédat, Cyril Gomez-Mathieu, Ola Maciejewska, Émilien Tessier, Gaëtan Vourcʼh and a string quartet with Ainārs Paukšēns, Arvīds Zvagulis, Raimonds Melderis, Arigo Štrāls
Technical director: Marc Chevillon
Assistant director: Marie Urban
Producer: Vivarium Studio
Co-producer: Wiener Festwochen, Théâtre de Gennevilliers Centre Dramatique National de création contemporaine, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Foreign Affairs | Berliner Festspiele, Festival dʼAvignon, Ménagerie de Verre, Paris, Le Forum / Scène conventionnée de Blanc-Mesnil, Kaaitheater, Brussels, La Filature Scène nationale de Mulhouse, International Summer Festival, Hamburg, Festival Theaterformen, Hanover/Braunschweig, La Bâtie – Festival de Genève a.o.
Philippe Quesne is associate artist to Théâtre de Gennevilliers since 2012.
8
September
20:00
10 and 7*
Lats
Language
No text
Duration
1 h 40min
Website
Supported by
* Ticket price for pupils, students, seniors
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