Julien Mellano / COLLECTIF AÏE AÏE AÏE
| Creation, direction and performance: | Julien Mellano |
| External perspective: | Etienne Manceau |
| Lighting and stage design: | Sebastien Thomas |
| Sound: | Gildas Gaboriau |
| Music: | Olivier Mellano and Mauricio Kagel |
| Production: | COLLECTIF AÏE AÏE AÏE |
| Co-production: | Festival 11, a biennial of puppets and teatre of objects; Scene Nationale Sud Aquitain |
| AÏE AÏE AÏE is supported by the Ministry of Culture - DRAC of Britanny, the Regional Council of Brittany, the County Council of Ille-et-Vilaine, the Rennes City Council and Rennes Metropole | |
| Ersatz is presented in Madrid in collaboration with Corral de Comedias of Alcalá de Henares, and with the support of the Institut Français | |
“A fascinating experience”.Le Monde
"A cross between theatre and the visual arts, between Jacques Tati and Black Mirror. That's Ersatz, the chilly gleam of a future that's already present". This is the French collective AÏE AÏE AÏE's description of its latest creation, where the director, performer and stage designer Julien Mellano freely fantasises about the man of tomorrow.
The strange protagonist of Ersatz which premieres in Spain this November at the 37th Autumn Festival is the result of an absurd alchemy between man and machine. A solitary specimen, the remnant of a disenchanted future, suffering the consequences of a technological revolution that hasn't attained a complete balance.
In this silent creation, Mellano explores virtual reality by manipulating real objects. With a somewhat disturbing sense of humour, the creator draws the audience into a mysterious treasure hunt where symbols and objects come to life in a sort of metaphorical painting that is strangely reminiscent of 17th-century vanities.
Just like a frog or a poem, Ersatz cannot be dissected, because its constituent elements cannot explain its internal connections. Here in a black hole, we find the absurd and the miraculous. But far from being an orderly narrative about the future, Ersatz is a trip to a problematic world, hidden deep in our selves that reaches down to our most deeply buried roots", explains Mellano, whose creations are the result of a confluence of the stage and visual arts, birthing enigmatic worlds where the artist draws an ode to fantasy.
Critics have lavished their praise on this piece of wordless visual art that is Ersatz: "an ironic humour, diabolically irresistible" states Télérama; "a dream-like spectacle" according to Filledepaname; and "a strange piece; a brilliant and daring gem", says Montheatre.
With Ersatz, the Breton collective AÏE AÏE AÏE, headed by Mellano, once again explores different forms of creation and their staging, celebrating a strange taste for endowing images and objects that are exhibited on stage, with new meanings.
AÏE AÏE AÏE, which literally means "oh, no!" or the exclamation of a drama that's about to occur, is an artistic collective that functions as a meeting point for the production and distribution of unique shows that share the same curiosity for different creative forms (theatre, visual arts, music, etc.) as well as a taste for reinventing stage elements. The French troupe has staged nearly 15 shows to great applause at international venues and festivals. One year after its premiere at the ONZE Biennial in France, Ersatz comes to Madrid to submerge the audience in a disquieting experience of humour and farce with which Mellano and AÏE AÏE AÏE reflect on the future of mankind and their representations.