Reviews

As always with Pommerat, the charge is subtle, frighteningly cruel and funny. And that's perhaps the greatest tour de force of Contes et légendes: we laugh. A laugh that squeaks like a badly oiled robot.

Philibert Humm, Le Figaro

Ambitious, the work is unparalleled in its accuracy. Impeccably directed, the comedians lend the play a rare credibility and devastating emotion.

 Vincent Bouquet, Les Echos

In this world of discarded adults, lost children cling to signs of love, even if they come from robots, even if they know them to be artificial. Simulacra reigns. The robots let out satisfied chuckles. The viewer is more than confused. It's wonderfully acted and staged. Very beautiful, very dark.

Jean-Luc Porquet, Le Canard Enchaîné

About Contes et légendes (Tales and legends)

Contes et légendes is a fictional documentary about adolescent self-construction and the myth of the artificial creature. Joël Pommerat continues his observation of contemporary values and identities, this time staging a slightly futuristic world in which humans and social robots cohabit. Like an anthropologist of the future, he observes a series of relationships between adolescents, adults and androids. More than the umpteenth discourse on the dangers or progress of Artificial Intelligence, Contes et légendes allows us to experience the ambiguities of different modes of existence and truth through a constellation of sensitive and funny moments.

Credits

Theatrical Creation: Joël Pommerat

Cast: Prescillia Amany Kouamé, Jean-Édouard Bodziak, Elsa Bouchain, Justine Lou Dhouailly, Angélique Flaugère, Lucie Grunstein, Lucie Guien, Marion Levesque, Angéline Pelandakis, Lenni Prézelin

Set and Lighting Design: Éric Soyer

Technical Direction: Emmanuel Abate

Assistant Technical Direction: Thaïs Morel

Visual Research/Costume Design: Isabelle Deffin

Wigs and Makeup Design: Julie Poulain

Dresser (on tour): Manon Denarié

Wigs: Jean-Sébastien Merle

Sound: François Leymarie, Philippe Perrin

Musical Creation: Antonin Leymarie

Original Music Recorded by Ève Rissier, Clément Petit, Isabelle Sorling, Benjamin Bailly, Justine Metral et Hélène Maréchaux

Dramaturgy: Marion Boudier

Additional Dramaturgy: Élodie Muselle

Assistant Stage Directors: Roxane Isnard, Garance Rivoal, Lucia Trotta

Assistant Observer: Daniely Francisque

Additional Assistants: Axel Cuisin

Production coordinator: Alice Caputo

Sound Technician: Yann Priest

Light Technician: Gwendal Malard

Stage Technicians: Olivier Delachavonnery, Pierre-Yves Le Borgne

Subtitles Technician: Jorge Tomé

Set Construction: Ateliers de Nanterre-Amandiers

Furniture Construction: Thomas Ramon-ARTOM

Chinese Script Translation: Wang Jing

The project would like to express its special thanks to the French Embassy in China for assistance, and to Ms. Wang Jing and Hybridités France-Chine for their assistance.

About Joël Pommerat

Born in 1963, Joël Pommerat is an author-director, with the particularity of only directing his own texts. For him, there is no hierarchy: the staging and the text are developed at the same time during rehearsals. Since founding the Compagnie Louis Brouillard in 1990, Joël Pommerat has written and directed more than 30 theatrical plays and operas, receiving public and critical acclaim, along with numerous major awards for his work as a theatrical creator and for the work of his company like Molière Award and the grand prix du théâtre.

About Compagnie Louis Brouillard

Founded by Joël Pommerat in 1990, the Compagnie Louis Brouillard has created and toured 34 shows, staged more than 4,000 performances, and attracted nearly 950,000 spectators in France and abroad.

Each production is rehearsed over 4 to 8 months depending on the project. For several years now, these creations have been preceded by research workshops during which Joël Pommerat explores the themes that drive him, then develops a work in which texts, lighting, sound, music and costumes are worked out at virtually the same time, during rehearsals, in collaboration with the artistic team.

Compagnie Louis Brouillard's shows have won 20 awards, including 7 Molières and 4 international awards. Alongside its creative work and touring support, the company publishes Joël Pommerat's texts, which have been translated into 40 languages, and adapted worldwide.