"Affordable Solution for Better Living" by Théo Mercier & Steven Michel
Company:
The Invisible Dog
In Affordable Solution for Better Living, visual artist Théo Mercier and choreographer Steven Michel break the taboos of a society saddled with healthy living, placing a Kallax–a most peculiar totem–in the middle of a spotless space. The flagship shelf unit by the giant company Ikea, less famous than the Billy but more sizable and refined, epitomizes “beauty for all”. By transposing a commercial system to a choreographic piece, Affordable Solution for Better Living aims to interrogate the commodified body, the prescribed lifestyle and the illusion of freedom touted by the major industrial powers. How does the corporate world stage the consumer’s body? Is the household the only insubmissive space or in fact an umpteenth incarnation staged by a major brand? In three acts, Affordable Solution for Better Living debunks the model and unfurls the convictions and doubts of a nearly perfect and polished man. A centaur, half man and half furniture, absurdly builds his own customized interior, unique and yet like all the others. In crescendo mode, man and space merge beautifully, the smooth, harmonious and chilling world cracks and bends, exposing its dark side as well as its humanity. Aren’t people likely to self-destruct from within as they strive excessively to tend to their interior?
Conception, choreography, and scenography: Théo Mercier and Steven Michel
With: Steven Michel
Text: Jonathan Drillet
Lighting Designer: Éric Soyer
Sound Composer: Pierre Desprats
Costumes: Dorota Kleszcz
Stage Management: François Boulet
Executive Production: Delphine Vuattoux, Nanterre-Amandiers, Centre dramatique national, apap – Performing Europe 2020 – with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union
Executive Production Officer: Paola Gilles
Coproduction: Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy
Booking: Art Happens/Sarah De Ganck
Photo: Erwan Fichou
In Collaboration With: workspacebrussels / Life Long Burning, with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union
Special Thanks:
Actoral – Festival international des arts et des écritures contemporaines &Montévidéo, Créations Contemporaines – Atelier de Fabrique Artistique,La ménagerie de verre, CAMPO, Ghent (Belgium)
Monday, November 12: 7:30pm
Tuesday, November 13: 7:30pm
Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes
Suggested Donation: $10
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