Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm

Swamp Club is an urban fairy tale set in the eerily peaceful environment of a lonely swamp inhabited by strange creatures, insects and noises. The only remaining building is a cultural centre, the Swamp Club: the artists of the French Vivarium Studio are its artists in residence supported by an adept string quartet. But as so often happens, the cultural centre is threatened by a municipal construction project, which intends to destroy it. The Swamp Club must defend itself.

Naturalists in potted plant jungles, animating the Big Bang or a thirty-year old who drives a sparkler attached to a toy car in circles around his flat: it is such brilliant scenes, which have given visual artist and set designer Philippe Quesne a reputation for being true theatre magician – save that his magic emerges from the most simple of means. With subtly funny, strangely humorous pieces such as L’effet de Serge or Big Bang, performed last winter at Mousonturm, the French director and the Vivarium Studio – an association of polyglot actors, dancers, painters, musicians and the dog Hermés, have become the new, much loved stars of the European performance avantgarde. Just last month, Philippe Quesne was appointed new artistic director of the famous Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre near Paris.

Combination ticket together with  “Die kleine Freiheit – vielleicht” on 15.2. for € 25 / red. € 12 here.

Conceived, directed and designed by: Philippe Quesne * With Isabelle Angotti, Snæbjörn Brynjarsson, Yvan Clédat, Cyril Gomez-Mathieu, Ola Maciejewska, Émilien Tessier, Gaëtan Vourcʼh and a string quartet * Production: Vivarium Studio * Co-production: Wiener Festwochen, Théâtre de Gennevilliers, Festival d’Automne, Foreign Affairs, Festival d’Avignon, Ménagerie de Verre, Le Forum, Scène conventionnée de Blanc-Mesnil, Kaaitheater, La Filature Scène nationale de Mulhouse, Internationales Sommerfestival, Festival Theaterformen, Festival La Bâtie * Supported by: Centre chorégraphique national de Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon, EMPAC – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and the Performing Arts (USA), Région Ile-de-France and Institut français and the French Ministery for Culture und comunication / DGCA * Funded by DRAC: Île-de-France – Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Conseil Régional Île-de-France * Philippe Quesne is Associate Artist of the Théâtre de Gennevilliers since 2012.