Stereoptik (France)

Visual and musical poetry. Antichambre is an animated film and a live performance, all at the same time, blending stop-motion, object theatre and music into a single captivating experience. Antichambre immerses us in the creative process of a film and guides us along the path of the ideas that brought it to life.

In art, nothing is ever lost, everything is transformed, everything evolves. Antichambre takes this principle to the extreme, sharing all the stages of the creative process with the audience. On either side of the stage, a drawing table and musical instruments, where Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet take us: first a sketch takes shape. An eraser suddenly appears and rubs it out. A painting is composed, a landscape takes shape… As the show progresses, the visual and musical processes are enriched, colour emerges, and the paper silhouettes begin to dance, all accompanied by live music that immerses us in the creative, poetic and dreamlike world of the two artists.

In this story, a young man absorbed in his work finds a photo of himself as a child. And thanks to this photo, he reconnects with his capacity for observation and the wonder that were buried inside him. He spends his days feeling the wind, watching the clouds and daydreaming. He flies over the Amazon, dives into the depths of the ocean, meets chimerical creatures and falls in love. His imaginary journeys will change him forever. At the end, the audience discovers the film in its entirety.

This four-handed performance moves us and shows us what goes on behind the scenes of a creation: its ‘antechamber’. Antichambre is not just a show, it’s an explosion of live art and a love letter to the creative process.

^{“We are gently swept away by the grace of this visual and musical poem full of delicacy.” - Joëlle Gayo, Le Monde}

^{“Stereoptik, a duo of musicians and visual artists, offers us a poetic interlude, disconnecting us from the world during the show and letting landscapes emerge with the wonderful flavour of childhood.” - Kilian Orain, Télérama}

^{“An audiovisual creation composed and projected live, Antichambre is a small marvel full of poetry that invites young and old alike to marvel.” - Callysta Croizer, Les Echos}

^{“Antichambre is a poetic and sensitive proposal that unfolds in several directions and draws inspiration from various arts (…). It’s very beautiful and you get the feeling that you’ve been given the keys to a better understanding of the artists’ work (…).}

^{The result on the screen is splendid and the audience’s pleasure is evident (…). It’s a beautiful and interesting proposal, different from anything else.”}

^{- Mathieu Dochtermann, Puppet Gazette}

^{“The ability to see the small, delicate work being created in front of our eyes, then projected in mesmeric quality at a large scale, is quite beautiful.}

^{The speed, simplicity and beauty with which such pictures are created before us is quite something (…). For an hour, we are not just watching animation being created live; we are being flown into the art. Antechamber is like nothing else one may see on stage (…).” - Scott Matthewman, The Reviews Hub ★★★★★}

^{“It’s really quite remarkable to watch (...). It’s very transfixing – almost meditative – watching each scene come together.” - Salterton Arts Review ★★★★}

BIO

Formed in 2008 during the creation of the show of the same name, STEREOPTIK is a duo composed of Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet, both visual artists and musicians. Based on a score that they write and develop together, each of their shows is created in front of the audience. Painting, drawing, shadow, object and puppet theatre, silent film, live music and animation are all areas in which Stereoptik blurs the boundaries. The many arts brought onto the stage are guided by one principle, that of showing the audience the technical process that leads to the development of characters, scenes and a story. The audience is free to be carried away by the projected images and story, or to focus on the details of how the drawing moves on the screen, how the ink gives birth to a silhouette on a transparent background and which instrument is used to bring it to life. Visual, musical and devoid of text, Stereoptik’s creations arouse curiosity and astonishment in audiences of all ages and cultures.

_CREDITS

_{Concept and performers: Jean-Baptiste Maillet, Romain Bermond Photography: Stereoptik, Richard Schroeder, Christophe Reynaud de Lage, Renaud Vezin Executive production and booking: Les 2 Bureaux Coproduction:Théâtre de la Ville - Paris, L’Hectare - Territoires Vendômois - Centre National de la Marionnette, Le Trident - Scène Nationale de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Le Sablier - Centre National de la Marionnette, Le Parvis - Scène Nationale Tarbes Pyrénées, Lux - Scène Nationale de Valence, Folimage In partnership with: L’Echalier - Agence Rurale de Développement Culturel, Théâtre des 2 Rives. Stereoptik é artista associado do Théâtre de la Ville - Paris e de L’Hectare - Territoires Vendômois - Centre National de la Marionnette. Companhia convencionada por Ministère de la Culture - DRAC Centre-Val de Loire e Région Centre-Val de Loire}

_{www.stereoptik.com}