This is the story of a king, an emaciated body, an underground realm populated by barrels that grow like trees. This is the story of a nonchalant Keatonesque servant, which is given as primary and eternal role to carry the weight of the king’s head. The kingdom of darkness is made of wheels who turn like a soul escaping to the surface of the skin. One day, a ghostly river will produce two visitors who are going to question the very existence of the kingdom, and perhaps bring with them the possibility of a spring in the heart of the darkness of this king.
To discover the world of i-Petroplus in pictures :
What is the show about?
My show is an allegory in two dimensions : an old Greek mythology, Hades and Persephone, is crossed with the universe of oil and dependence of Western and Eastern civilizations for oil. The story depicts the fate of a king living in an underground world, decorated only with the machines in the oil industry. These machines that drill the earth in a ritual gesture will bring to light a treasure that is going to change and transform the life of the kingdom. The underground kingdom is staged by dance and theater acting, scenery, fantastic and dreamlike costumes, as well as the multitude of oil barells that guide the course of history. How to make a show that addresses these important issues without falling into a documentary theater? I want to create a show that could be experienced through the senses and the visual, not the accuracy of the words. This story is not a documentary but a fantastic parabola told through dance, set, play, but without words : the image is sovereign…..
Why should you support this project?
Supported by the State and the City of Geneva and the Loterie Romande that allow us to remunerate the artists involved honorably, our show has a greater need for CHF 6’500. This money will be used to hire a light/sound technician for the creation and representations. Without the critical support of a technician, my show based on the interaction of the game / dance and fantastic scenery may not see the day …!
The theater is a place to create and to ask questions. My show wants to question the relationship that our society has with the oil industry, with wealth, and especially with the dependence in which we are immersed fully on stage. The theater today gives us words, and dance often has lacks of narrative structure. I would like to connect these two disciplines in order to make the best of each. I worked for 5 years with the french director and choreographer James Thierrée (small son of Charlie Chaplin) on the interdisciplinary show (dance, theater, circus, puppetry) called «Raoul» on tour around the world … In addition to play theater, I learned dancing and handling fantastic costumes (puppets) that fed my job and my passion for interdisciplinary shows! My show so brings together dancers and actors form Geneva, Mexico and England. In the wake of these past experiences, I want to create for the public creatures that come out of this essence and this oil kingdom and give them the silhouettes of characters similar to those of the world of Beckett, but brought to life through the body and dance.