Stereoptik (France)

Dark Circus is one of the most iconic shows by Stereoptik, who mesmerized the audience at FIMFA Lx25 with Antichambre, which premiered to great acclaim at the Festival d’Avignon in 2015. Born from the imagination of French illustrator Pef, the fantastical story of Dark Circus is animated onstage by the Stereoptik duo. Surrounded by everyday drawing materials and a collection of instruments, they share the techniques, tools and low-tech effects behind their wondrous, cartoon-like apparitions. Accompanied by a whimsical electro-acoustic soundtrack, this feel-good show literally emerges before your eyes.

A disconcerting performance at the intersection of visual arts, puppetry, and video. A story masterfully staged by two true "alchemists" who succeed in creating a unique visual and sound universe, one that is especially crafted to leave us in awe.

^{"(...) If the circus is dark, the tone is light. Music and images accompany the action and the story is laced with poetic moments and a healthy dose of irony: Come for the show, stay for the woe.}

^{The ink drawings that provide the backdrop for Dark Circus, thick and black, resemble photographs in their use of light and contrast. The various techniques used onstage create images of extraordinary beauty and inventiveness. Here, the visual magic of the theatre meets the childlike wonder of the circus. Before our eyes, an urban landscape of buildings and streets transforms into a crowd-filled tent. Lit from above, a drum set becomes a runway to the stars, the neck of a guitar morphs into a stern animal trainer. A few flicks of an eraser and a wild horse is liberated from the ring, spreading poetry in his wake." - Maïa Bouteillet} 

^{"Miraculous! Wonderful! Enchanting! Magical! Fascinating! (...). Young and old alike lacked words strong enough to express their happiness (...).}

^{The show is a gem (...).}

^{If we had to describe their art, we could say they make cinema without film. They create live animated movies, projected onto a large screen (...).}

^{It takes a great deal of imagination and cunning to give soul to this animation for an hour, without a single break, with metamorphoses of shapes, objects, and a fluidity in the connection of images that are magically drawn as the action unfolds (...). The performance lies in these constantly transforming images, but also in the work of the two artists. The illustrator, the one-man band, and their gestures that reveal strange forms on the screen. Everything is beautiful and intelligent. We say no more. But you will be surprised!" - Armelle Heliot, Le Figaro}

^{"Three electric guitar chords and a drawing begins to form on the screen at the back of the stage. A few strokes, some dots, and a small tent appears in the middle of a city (...). Thus begins Dark Circus, by Stereoptik (...). It is funny, of course, this eulogy to failure, which carries none of the consequences of a 'real' circus. But it is more than that. We experience a purely childlike pleasure in watching these two men create their small universe live, and in observing the dialogue between the manipulations they perform and the result, captured live by small cameras and projected onto the screen (...). A universe that possesses the beauty of black and white (...), in which color suddenly explodes and invades the canvas (...)." - Fabienne Darge, Le Monde}

^{"A little gem (...) It is extremely poetic and contemporary at the same time." - Amelie Blaustein Niddam, Toute la Culture}

^{"(...) At the crossroads of silent cinema and object theatre, Dark Circus leaves us in awe (...). 'Do inanimate objects have a soul?', Lamartine once asked. Under the fingers of Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Mallet from the company Stereoptik, there is no doubt that the objects placed on stage, guitar, charcoal, or cardboard characters, have a restless and exciting life! Stereoptik's theatre is like no other. Their art stands, indeed, at the intersection of shadow theatre, silent movie, and music. Visual artists and musicians, the two accomplices assemble a handmade film before our eyes, using the simplest means and immense creativity. They create an animated film projected onto a large screen, using traditional resources, harcoal, chalk, sand, cranks, all while performing the show's music (...). Like in fairy tales, this Dark Circus is harsh and cruel until the final twist. Don't worry, all is well that ends well." — Marie-Ève Barbier, La Provence.com}

^{"Stereoptik puts its astute and ingenious techniques at the service of poetry, and we are amazed by their dexterity." - Ouest France}

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, performers: Romain Bermond, Jean-Baptiste Maillet Based on an original story by: Pef Outside eye: Frédéric Maurin Photography: JM Besenval, Christophe Raynaud de Lage Coproduction: L’Hectare - Scène Conventionnée de Vendôme, Théâtre Jean Arp - Scène Conventionnée de Clamart, Théâtre Le Passage - Scène Conventionnée de Fécamp, Théâtre Epidaure de Bouloire Support: Théâtre de l’Agora - Scène Nationale Evry Essonne, L’Echalier/Saint-Agil, Théâtre Paris Villette, MJC Mont-Mesly Madeleine Rebérioux/Créteil, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication/ DRAC Centre-Val de Loire, Région Centre-Val de Loire}

_{www.stereoptik.com}