After the fun Dark Circus, STEREOPTIK, the French duo formed by Romain Bermond and Jean-Baptiste Maillet, continues to excite us with their theatre of objects, music and live illustration. Dedicated to an audience of all ages, Congés Payés (Paid Holidays) is a new adventure discovering the origins of the concept of holidays.
It starts on 1 August 1936, when the French began to enjoy the pleasure of free time thanks to the unanimous vote that for the first time extended “paid holidays” to all the workers with at least one year of seniority. This is the period of the first trips to the sea or the mountains, the tents put up on the banks of a river, long trips in the car and beach games. The only things left from those distant days are photographs, a few amateur movies, and old family memories.
STEREOPTIK uses these materials in real time to create a new sequence of sounds and images, in which holiday movies are combined with hand drawn images and graphics. Record players, paper, charcoal, paint and plastic bags, together with live music, bring to life a world that has the flavour of other times and the cheerfulness of an unexpected holiday.
