ARCHIVES 2015 / Dark Circus

“Come one, come all, be unhappy!” This message echoes through the streets of a black and white city whose inhabitants come to the circus to get sadder. In the centre of the dark circus tent, a sinister ringmaster introduces a series of ever more tragic acts. The Dark Circus is the negative genesis of the joy brought by the circus of our collective childhood. Born within Pef's mind and handed over to STEREOPTIK, it proves entertaining, thanks to a caustic cruelty reminiscent of ancient gladiatorial games. However, a juggler, as unlucky as the acrobats, trapeze artists, and tamers who've come before him, drops a red ball out of his hat. It turns out to be the discordant note, the flashy touch of colour everyone was secretly waiting for. The unavoidable destiny of this circus is upended. Magic enters the ring, finding its place alongside the virtuosity of Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet, who animate instruments, puppets, and shadows. Thanks to the film that is created under their eyes by the drawing and music, the audience once again feels the wonder that fills the hearts of children when they hear a drum roll.

Created in 2008 at the same time as the eponymous show, STEREOPTIK brings together Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet, both visual artists and musicians. Based on a score they build and write together, every one of their shows is built under the eyes of its audience, live. Theatre of shadows, of objects and puppets, silent films, unplugged or electronic concerts, fairy tales and cartoons are so many fields and genres whose boundaries STEREOPTIK likes to play with. At the heart of the many forms of art that appear on the stage is one principle: to show the audience the technical process that leads to the apparition of characters, of scenes, of a story. Just as in Stereoptik, Les Costumes trop grands (Costumes Too Big), and Congés payés (Paid Vacation Time), Dark Circus's audience is free to let themselves be carried away by the images and stories projected onto the screen, or to see in detail what leads to the movement of the cartoon on the screen, how ink creates a silhouette on a transparent background, what instrument is used to bring it to life. Visual, musical, and without text, STEREOPTIK's creations arouse curiosity and wonder in audiences of all ages and all nationalities.

Born in 1939, Pierre Elie Ferrier has worked as a journalist, as a perfume salesman, and as a racecar test driver, before publishing his first book, dedicated to his grandmother, who he claims held even weirder jobs (Me, My Grandmother..., 1978). A writer and a cartoonist, this rambler whose first love is for the wind and clouds uses the pen name Pef for the many books he writes. In 1980, he created the now wildly famous Prince de Motordu, the hero of a series of children's books filled with puns and other linguistic stunts. In 2014, Gallimard published Pef's second book for adults.