Philippe Quesne . Vivarium Studio

The powerfully visual and atmospheric theatrical worlds of Philippe Quesne consistently focus on the pressing issues of our time. For his new piece, a retrospective of his 20-year collaboration with the Vivarium Studio, he brings together the most important protagonists and motifs from his work to this point. The title of this anniversary play, located somewhere in between a medieval bestiary, environmental sci fi and a modern Western, is a reference to the 500-year-old painting by Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Delights. In a dialogue with this key work from art history, Quesne enquires into the core of human identity, utopian visions of humanity and its broken relationship to contemporary dystopias. In a grand theatrical panorama, this many-sided director, scenographer and playwright traces the development of human history, its highs and lows, its dreams, its will to power and its failures. In doing so he explores the rules of how to form a community and how to treat the world around us in an extremely poetic and playful manner. Once again Philippe Quesne succeeds in creating a humorous and lucid celebration of the power of the imagination – in response to the anxieties of our age.