If today you have the persistent impression of living in the middle of a dystopia, this program will not dispel it. But maybe it provokes a kind of catharsis, despite everything. In extremis. In any case, this Katharsy Ringwhich can be seen at the National Theater in Strasbourg before its appearance at the Autumn Festival, in Gennevilliers (Hauts-de-Seine), then on tour, impresses and fascinates as much as Pinocchio (live)the previous work of director Alice Laloy, who establishes herself as an important creator.
The main idea here is to transpose the dramaturgy of the video game to the theater. But, from there, Alice Laloy invents an implacable fable about our era where voluntary servitude has found new tools. A ring is drawn on the stage, crowned by imposing theatrical machinery. In this circle, puppets-avatars are progressively launched, arriving, inert, in cars and coming to life under the guidance of two opposing players installed on both sides of the space. In the background, a mysterious diva with a long train dress, like a futuristic version of an ancient dea ex machina: Katharsy, that’s her. Here everything is covered by a dusty gray veil, except for the two players, dressed according to the codes of current cool chic.
In four parts, the avatars of the two sides present will face each other in strange battles, strange rituals, which will consist of throwing themselves on the clothes that fall from the hangers to dress and change as quickly as possible, to frantically open packages that also fall from the sky , to stuff their mouths full of various foods and then have to collect and throw away their waste. In other words, consume as much as possible and then have to liquidate stock at an accelerated rate. Fill-empty, fill-empty, endless, in machine mode. The “game”, here, consists mainly of taking from the other what they have, in a spirit of unbridled competition.
Surprising formal mastery
On both sides, the two trainers activate their creatures with commands formulated in imperative: “Advance!” ; ” Walk ! ” ; “Pivot!” » ; “Hop!” » ; “Leverage! ” ; ” Stroke ! “. No more words will be spoken on the show, just these orders given in a dry, feverish tone. In fact, it is a world of consumption – in the most concrete and also most philosophical sense of the term – and of manipulation that Alice Laloy orchestrates with surprising formal mastery. The director first studied scenography, before researching human puppets, the invention of hybrid presences, half human, half puppet.
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