Fake
After Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen
FAKE is a performance where the audience stroll around freely, wearing headphones that transmit a live musical backdrop. A loosely narrated version of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt constitutes the framework of this piece. Each participant can choose their own path, rhythm, and focal point within the set-up, as they drift constantly between reality and fiction. The audience embark upon an astounding aural voyage, and electronic sounds lead them to surpass the limits of physical space.
What is FAKE?
FAKE is a completely adaptable performance which changes according to where it is staged. Whether outside and/or inside, during the day or at night, the audience may be seated at the beginning but will no doubt at some point stand up and start to follow the storyteller Abbi Patrix - who draws inspiration from his surroundings and those listening to him in order to tell a different tale for each show. He interacts with both “real” and “fake” members of the audience: indeed, some accomplices have infiltrated the crowd and are in for the ride. Musicians, singers and performers might also crop up to further animate the headphone wearer’s experience.
FAKE often takes place in public spaces and is first and foremost a participatory event, allowing those who are not yet members of the audience — feeling intrigued by the installation and the people already involved — to join the show midway. These factors create a fertile ground for each performance to be wildly different from the next, yet the story remains the same. Abbi Patrix embodies renowned monologues taken from Peer Gynt, and is joined by Anne Alvaro’s recorded voice.
FAKE is compatible with all types of potential sites:
- Private
- Stadium
- Theatre (entrance, backstage, auditorium)
- Museum
- Cinema
- Public
- Marketplace
- Parks
- Shopping centre
- Festival
(this is a non-exhaustive list)
Suitable for ages 7+
Duration: 75 minutes
Booking direct / Abbi Patrix
Press
Le Canard enchaîné
“He already amazed us in 2017 with his dark take on Hamlet that mixed moving image and electronic music, played by the impressive Serge Merlin. The director and composer Wilfried Wendling has once again embarked upon an atypical project: Ibsen’s Peer Gynt staged in the open air. We say yes!”
M. P.
L'Humanité
“The radio frequency scrambles… and the journalist’s continuous drawl makes way for Anne Alvaro’s voice which seems to come from unimaginable depths. She calls out to Abbi Patrix. His suave, deep voice replies, promising us that we are about to experience something ‘fantastic where eye and ear are no longer combined’ . Little by little, the surrounding world becomes an odd vantage point. What a strange world of trolls.”
Journal la Terrasse
“Snippets of radio shows, percussive and climatic patterns, interactions with passers-by and
members of the audience, direct quotation of monologues taken from Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt…here everything criss-crosses, comes together, and overlaps…”
Manuel Piolat Soleymat
Théâtres.com
“The sheer magic of this piece resides in the fact that the listener/viewer experiences the
performance via a headset: they are secluded within their own perceptions, their own hearing,
all the while amidst a dense and mobile crowd. It’s a surprising encounter and the concentration required to listen in such a densely populated space leads to a kind of meditation, a state of reassuring relaxation and introspection.”
Audrey Jean
De la cour au jardin
“It was a fascinating experience bringing together many artistic disciplines alongside a genuine
idea and real questions. There was no lack of either form nor content. It’s an unusual set-up;
I couldn’t imagine anything more surprising and interesting.”
Yves Poey