Vive la Phrance
By Spreafico Eckly & Matteo Fargion
Date of creation: 2017
Concept and direction: Andrea Spreafico.
With: Matteo Fargion, Robert M. Johanson, Mate Meszaros.
Music: Matteo Fargion
Light: Caroline Eckly
Scenography: Gens – Association libérale d’architecture.
Stage Management: Stephen Lunn
Co-production: BIT Teatergarasjen Bergen), Teaterhuset Avant Garden (Trondheim), Black Box teater (Oslo), Carte Blanche (Bergen).
Supported by: Norsk kulturråd, Bergen kommune .
Thank for their expertise and advises to: Peter Wendl, Thomas Bruvik, Robert Roespel, Conrad Kemp, Melanie Fieldseth, Roy Aernaouts, Francesca Fargion, Jonathan Burrows.
Vive la Phrance tests the capacity of performing arts to give insight into how citizens relate to power structures in society. The performance takes place on a stage that has been transformed into the pleasant surroundings of a German biergarten for the occasion. A musician, an actor and a dancer guide the audience through eight performative situations inspired by existing works and forms of expression. Each situation defines the position of the audience based on varying degrees of trust and control. Can these positions tell us something about how we observe and act, make plans and improvise, both individually and collectively, in relation to the rules set by those in power? Vive la Phrance is a performative and analytical exploration of this premise. It’s a systematic piece with an high degree of sociability among the members of the audience, a piece that enjoys the imperfections of systems and conventions.