October 10, 2016, 8:30 p.m.-10:20 p.m., in the German Theatre hall
The Ventriloquists Convention
Conception, direction and scenography: Gisèle Vienne –– Production: Puppentheater Halle & DACM (Germany & France)
Text: Dennis Cooper, in collaboration with the performers –– Sound design: KTL (Stephen O’Malley & Peter Rehberg) –– Light design: Patrick Riou –– Performed by and created in collaboration with: Jonathan Capdevielle, Kerstin Daley-Baradel, Uta Gebert, Vincent Göhre, Nils Dreschke, Sebastian Fortak, Lars Frank, Ines Heinrich-Frank, Katharina Kummer –– Coproduction: Nanterre-Amandiers – centre dramatique national, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Les Spectacles Vivants - Centre Pompidou, Centre Dramatique National Orléans/Loiret/Centre, Le TJP, Centre Dramatique National d’Alsace - Strasbourg // Le Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg - Scène européenne, La Bâtie, Festival de Genève, Internationales Sommerfestival, Kampnagel Hamburg, Kaserne Basel, Le Parvis, Scène nationale de Tarbes - Pyrénées, Theater Freiburg, Bonlieu, Scène nationale d’Annecy, hTh CDN de Montpellier, Fidena Festival - Bochum –– Supported by Institut Français
Performance in English with German and Romanian translations.
“Each year, the state of Kentucky hosts the biggest global convention of ventriloquists in the world. The Convention is an opportunity for ventriloquists from all over the United States, and the rest of the world, to meet, network, make friends, and build professional relationships. The play specifically deals with the reasons why ventriloquists do what they do, what originally led them to take up ventriloquism, the way their work is viewed by others, as well as issues related to their gender and/or identity, and many other aspects of these curious characters. This research also allowed us to examine the puppeteer and/or ventriloquist figure in a more generic way, as it is most commonly viewed in our psyche, and its various fictional representations, including those in films and literature. We looked at the recurrent characteristics of a character who is often seen as suspicious, strange, or even disturbing.” (Gisèle Vienne)
Press excerpts
“A show as simultaneously and dense and transparent as this one really makes you question the whole nature of performance - and perhaps the whole complex of truths and mythologies that passes for normal life.”
Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail, Canada
Trailer
Photos
