La Mélancolie des Dragons

Premiered in 2008 at Festwochen, Vienna, “La Mélancolie des dragons” received raving reviews in international press:

“An absolute masterpiece!”
– “De Morgen” newspaper (Belgium)

“What mostly pervades the production is an unprecedented rendering of the absurd, ingenious and funny at the same time.”
– “De Standaard” newspaper (Belgium)

“A moment full of joy and pleasure, so rich and pointless as the life that inspired it.”
– “Le Soir” newspaper (Belgium).

“The incredible naturalness of actors, the poetic innovation and the humor which never turns into cynicism make ‘La Mélancolie’ a disarming and powerful spectacle”
– deredactie.be

Actors, visual artists, musicians and a dog: this is the main composition of Vivarium Studio, the theater company created in 2003 by the visual artist and set designer Philippe Quesne.

Born in 1970, Philippe Quesne used to collect and observe insects as a child. However, he never became an entomologist. Instead, he made good use of his studies in visual arts initially as a set designer for the theater and the opera as well as art exhibitions, and later as a director and set designer for Vivarium Studio: a company for which set design functions as an ecosystem into which the actors immerse themselves. Principle aim of Vivarium Studio (which means “aquarium” and/or “glass menagerie”) is to expose humans to the conditions of a microbiological laboratory.

In creating each new production, Quesne follows the principles of domino: the last scene of each work becomes the first of the next one. In this logic, “La Mélancolie des dragons” is born out of “L’Effet de Serge” (“Serge’s Effect”), a production whose main character constantly devises microscopic effects with whatever he finds in his apartment.

For “L’Effet de Serge” (2007), Quesne received the Obie Award at Under the Radar Festival (New York).

Since 2014 Quesne has been artistic co-director of Nanterre-Amandiers, Centre dramatique national.

Apart from theatre productions, Quesne also creates site-specific performances and artistic interventions in public spaces or natural landscapes. For instance, “Des Expériences” was performed in forests and lakes as well as landfills and galleries!

In “Enchantillions” (2008), the stage is a storefront window. Passersby-turned-spectators click the mouse of an iMac giving instructions to the actors who are on display.

Philip Quesne has toured internationally from Avignon, Vienna, Berlin and Brussels to New York, Seattle, Brazil, Mexico and Hong Kong with the following productions of Vivarium Studio: “La Démangeaison des ailes” (2003), “Des Expériences” (2004), “D’Après nature” (2006), “L’Effet de Serge” (2007), “La Mélancolie des dragons” (2008), “Big Bang” (2010), “Swamp Club” (2013), and “Next Day” (2014).

French Institute (31 Sina st.)

Thursday 25 February | 19:00
A conversation with Philippe Quesne

Onassis Stegi

Saturday 27 February
- Theater workshop by Philippe Quesne
- After performance talk with Philippe Quesne

Both conversations are coordinated by: Dr Katia Arfara, Artistic Director of the Theater and Dance Department at the Onassis Stegi