Le Grand Splendid Theater de Buenos Aires en Argentine propose dorénavant de disposer d’une librairie de toute beauté. Reprenant le vieux théâtre en le remettant à neuf, cette nouvelle organisation est très réussie, et est à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.
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Lazarides and Pret A Diner collaborate to create an underground feast for the senses
As a follow-up to the extraordinary Hell’s Half Acre, Steve Lazarides and his merry band of radical street artists have teamed up with KP Kofler’s Pret A Diner dining experience to create The Minotaur. Set once again in the dark depths of London’s Old Vic Tunnels the space has been transformed into an atmospheric feast for the senses for London Art Week.
After singeing eyeballs with the impromptu rendition of Dante’s Inferno at Hell’s Half Acre last year, this time the creative inspiration comes from another classical myth—that of Theseus’ quest to kill the Minotaur in the maze, with the help of Ariadne and her ball of twine. This dark tale of bravery and hubris is interpreted in many ways by different artists throughout the suitably-labyrinthine underground space.
Unnerving from the start, the exhibition begins with an entrance that uses light and shadow spooky effect as Lucy McLauchlan‘s trash collage sculptures and Zak Ové‘s black magic voodoo creatures throw monstrous shapes on the walls. Soon enough, we discover Atma’s crucified form of the Minotaur suspended from the ceiling, illuminated by candles, while the discordant soundtrack to a slow-motion film of bull-fighting sequences plays nearby.
As we progress through the space, other versions of monsters emerge from the shadowy arches—in one corner is Jonathan Yeo‘s leonine portrait of high-society plastic surgery queen, Jocelyn Wildenstein, while in another, Rupert Murdoch looks down from on high, chipped out of a wall in Vhils‘s trademark graffiti style.
Commentary on contemporary culture as “beast” also comes in the form of Antony Micallef’s works of genetic perfection. Highly-idealized, airbrushed images of women looking eerily like blow-up dolls seem to represent the daily modern sacrifice of fair maidens manipulated in our media maze.
Other work was more overtly repellent, like David Falconer’s enormous ball of rats, entertainingly titled “Vermin Death Star,” on view on the way to the show’s highlight, a beautifully-hypnotizing video installation by Doug Foster. He has recast the form of last year’s Heretic’s Gate as a smoking swirl of reflected and mirrored forms, out of which gleaming eyes and horns fleetingly emerge, then disappear into a silvery mist.
At the center of all the visual drama is the Pret A Diner space which, in the evening, turns into a bacchanalian feast of high gastronomy. Interior designer Nora Von Nordenskjold has created a space that, in her words, recalls “ancient civilizations and forgotten worlds. How it would be to feast with the gods in exile.” This decadent underground tavern is dripping with candle wax, vine leaves and grapes, illuminated only by flickering candles and Pret a Diner co-founder Olivia Steele’s neon writing sculptures.
Four star chefs have been invited to create rotating menus to amuse the revelers’ palates: Portuguese Londoner Nuno Mendes, Sushi sensei Ollysan, Germany-based Spaniard Juan Amador and Michelin-starred Matthias Schmidt. This deliciously-indulgent experience has the sinister undertones of being one’s last meal before being sacrificed to the Minotaur, yet remains entirely enjoyable. One fellow guest we overheard probably put it best when describing the whole experience as something akin to a terrifying carnival ride you want to go on again and again.
Ping-pong balls and dance in the U.S. debut of a visually arresting performance
On a black stage a singular ping-pong ball triggers four dancers, followed by thousands more balls dropping, rolling and flooding the scene in controlled chaos. This is “Why Patterns.” Making its U.S. debut next week, the performance piece is a collaboration between choreographer Jonah Bokaer and Snarkitecture, a creative studio founded by artist Daniel Arsham and architect Alex Mustonen.
First commissioned by Dance Works Rotterdam, the show draws inspiration from the musical composition by Morton Feldman of the same name. The creative partnership formed after Arsham met Bokaer while stage designing for the late choreographer Merce Cunningham. “We had many interests in common,” says Arsham. “In the case of ‘Why Patterns,’ I proposed the possibility of what we could do with one ball, and with 5,000 balls.” Costumes were redesigned by menswear’s Richard Chai.
With Arsham’s years of experience in stage design, the performance is a logical transition for Snarkitecture’s practice, but with the challenge of creating a lightweight set portable enough for touring. “Working within this, we created something that had a strong visual impact and some very unexpected moments that respond to the movement of the dancers,” says Mustonen.
“Why Patterns” runs from 3-7 August 2011 at the Jacob Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. Tickets are $23.50-$37.50, with special pricing on Friday. Visit Jacob Pillow Dance online to purchase and for more information.
Photos by Snarkitecture
Punchdrunk Theater Company’s designer talks to us about creating an immersive and interactive set
An intensely detailed set, we took a minute to find out more about the challenges and excitement of Punchdrunk Theatre Company’s Sleep No More‘s decor from the Associate Designer Livi Vaughan. Check out our video for an in-depth look at what it takes to create such an enigmatic ambiance and read on to learn more about the immersive theater’s experience.
Wandering, disoriented and alone, no two people will ever experience Sleep No More in the same fashion. This choose-your-own-adventure sets audiences in a dark and stormy, detail-obsessed mash-up of film noir and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This is not a play you take a seat for. In fact, you might just find yourself running through a forest chasing after a blood-soaked witch. Defying category, this immersive experience blends ambiance, dance, and elements of a carnival fun house for three hours of interactive theater.
Sleep No More takes place in The McKittrick Hotel—three Chelsea warehouses, gutted and linked together in a labyrinthine manner. From its exterior, McKittrick wouldn’t warrant a second glance. Once inside, the performance begins immediately as guests meander through a dark maze, finding their way into a gaudy cabaret, complete with a full bar and jazz band.
Masked and regrouped, everyone’s experience diverges from here. A bellhop lays out the rules and from then on, nothing can be taken at surface value. The McKittrick Hotel dictates your course, much the same way the Overlook Hotel lead to the unraveling of Jack Torrance in The Shining. Dull, throbbing mood music fills every room and floor, and each turn casts a unique sense of awe or mystery. Walls yield. One moment guests are in a grand ballroom, the next at the remains of a castle foundation. You can indulge in a candy shop, or admire the taxidermy. Everything can be touched. All the while, a loose adaptation of Macbeth, circa the 1930s, breezes around you.
Unexpectedly, guests catch sight of a sole unmasked figure. It is an entry point, with the option to follow. Taking place, simultaneously throughout, the characters of Macbeth interact. You can follow one character through the entirety of the production, or stray and seek a point of reentry. The dialogue is minimal, but if chance or preparation allow, you can glimpse Lady Macbeth and her iconic, “out, out damn spot!”
Physical, dance-driven performances illuminate character and plot points. Murder, betrayal and sex are all choreographed elements. Without much warning the performers disperse, leaving the guest to pick a direction and scramble among throngs of onlookers.
Playing off one another, the McKittrick and the actors vie for guest attention. Macbeth has been adapted over and over, but this site-specific production embodies a striking breed of theater where the guests themselves are an active component. All attendees, losing identity behind their masks, are ghosts populating the magical realism. With balletic grace, performances erupt and cease. Plot points may fall to the wayside, but the text is so familiar that it bears no influence. The space shifts and performs, leaving no moment unfilled. Therein lies Sleep No More’s greatest ally—unbridled, consistent stimulation uniquely yours.
Le créatif James Zhao a réalisé ce time-lapse afin de mettre en avant la 3ème édition du Festival Vivid de Sydney. Autour de ces jeux de lumières, la vidéo permet de montrer la variété des effets visuels que propose le festival. Plus d’images et la vidéo dans la suite.
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Afin de boucler la trilogie de films “Transformers”, le réalisateur Michael Bay a décidé de montrer dans cette tout nouvelle bande-annonce les principaux effets visuels pour Transformers 3. Une vidéo impressionnante à découvrir dans la suite, pour ce film prévu courant juillet.
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Checking in with the creative forces behind a bold multimedia production of Stravinsky’s post-WWI theater piece
Meant to be “played, danced and read,” one of Igor Stravinsky’s most ambitious pieces, “Histoire du Soldat”—penned in the frenzy of post-World War I reconstruction—delves into themes of chaos and absurdity. Tackling the powerful message and Stravinsky’s dissonant, pastiched style, director and choreographer Yara Travieso and illustrator Ryan Hartley recently adapted the difficult work for a multimedia spectacle opening tomorrow at NYC’s Lincoln Center.
To visually bring one of Stravinsky’s most complicated pieces to life more than a half-century after its inception required an intensive process. Hartley started sitting in on rehearsals early on to reverse-engineer around the motion of the bodies onstage. From there he pulled iconography from period source material and beyond. “As you watch,” Hartley explains, “there is a progression of influences in the images from Stalinist Russia to Nazi Propaganda to wartime American propaganda that passes into today’s war posters.”
The resulting cunning videos form a densely-layered set-piece as compelling as the story playing out in the foreground (performed by dancer Esme Boyce and actor Brendan Spieth). This seamless mix of elements stems from Travieso’s careful balance of theatricality and dance. “Multimedia is becoming a visual palette for a lot of audiences that are just used to dance or theatre.” she stated, emphasizing, “It is becoming something they are starting to understanding as the next level.”
Of course as much as trends in media influenced the director, as the Faustian tale (a Russian soldier makes a deal with the devil) unravels, the melodies’ surrealist proportions drive the production. “The music itself is a mash-up of different influences. From Tango to Russian Folk music, the meter is constantly changing,” says Travieso. Where some directors might feel stymied by the challenge, Travieso embraced it as a way to explore the multimedia aspects of the performance. Using disparate elements and technologies to create layers of information, Travieso’s staging of “Soldat” fully integrates attempt at realizing what can be possible when the digital and spacial world’s interact between each other and in front of an audience.
Showing as part of this year’s Beyond The Machine Festival, hosted by the Juilliard School and featuring electronic and interactive music programs, opens tomorrow 24 March 2011, runs through 27 March 2011 at the Meredith Wilson Theater, and is free to the public.
Five shows reinventing puppetry at Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center
From Jason Segel’s to the Internet sensation-turned-IFC show Food Party, puppetry endures as a medium that brings the absurd and fantastical to life. To celebrate the ancient art form, the Twin Cities’ Walker Art Center kickd off the performing arts season with five distinct shows under the banner Adventures in New Puppetry.
“Dark Matters” is a puppetry/dance hybrid fable by the Canadian dancer and choreographer Crystal Pite and her company, Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM. After the show, the company will lead a dance improvisation workshop.
The Twin Cities-based Open Eye Figure Theater will co-present Toy Theater After Dark, a modern take on old-world toy puppetry.
A collaboration between the avant-garde Slovene theater troupe Betontanc and Latvian object theater masters, Umka.lv, “Show Your Face!” is the dark story of an empty snowsuit brought to life by seven actors and live musicians.
Woyzeck on the Highveld is a mixed-media adaptation of Georg Buchner’s play. Director William Kentridge collaborated with the Handspring Puppet Company for this synthesis of animated film, puppets and actors.
The Devil and Mister Punch is a work-in-progress from the irreverent British theater company, Improbable.
To find tickets and specific show dates visit the Walker Calendar.
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