Where Are the Ogres?

Present day, in a major city. A woman lives alone with her daughter Hannah, who's refused to come out of her room for a while. Haunted by strange desires that make her uncomfortable and drive her away from others, the only person she can trust is one she's never met, but who understands her like a sister: Angelica. They spend entire days and night talking on the Internet. And during Angelica's unpredictable and sometimes seemingly-endless naps, Hannah sits there, staring at her screen, terrified her friend has forgotten her. Hannah's mother asks a doctor friend of hers for advice: how can she be sure that Hannah isn't talking to an artificial intelligence? Her daughter needs to do things, go out, have some fun... The owner of a nearby restaurant has invited a circus to perform, a perfect opportunity for Hannah to show she can be social... especially as the daughter of the owner is none other than Angelica, as she is about to discover. Once they've been brought to the countryside to finally meet in the flesh, the teenagers will share their secrets and reveal their respective nature... Pierre-Yves Chapalain, author and director, blends dream, magic, and virtual reality to explore the budding instincts of the two young girls. Will those turn out to be destructive or creative?

Pierre-Yves Chapalain
Pierre-Yves Chapalain is a writer and director with the company Le temps qu'il faut, founded in 2008. He directs his own texts, such as La Fiancée de Barbe-Bleue (Bluebeard's Fiancée), La Brume du soir (The Mist of the Night), La Lettre (The Letter), Absinthe, or Outrages (L'Ornière du reflux). Artist associated with the Centre dramatique national in Besançon, then with the Scènes du Jura, Pierre-Yves Chapalain, working with or without puppets, strives to give a contemporary setting to traits that have always characterised humans, thus blurring the border between what's real and what's imaginary. Using the tools of the theatre, he creates meaning through sensation, images through words. Where Are the Ogres? is a play that will in the fall give birth to a smaller piece aimed at children age 5 and up, Le Secret (The Secret), conceived as a mirror image to be performed in smaller venues (like classrooms), halfway between ventriloquism and object theatre. For Pierre-Yves Chapalain believes that children “can benefit from meeting someone who's going through the same things they are. To realise that you are unique but also share common traits with others can help you find your place in the world.” Pierre-Yves Chapalain is also an actor and a faithful collaborator of directors such as Pierre Meunier, Joël Pommerat, or Bérangère Vantusso (with whom he co-signed the adaptation and interpretation of Robert Walser's Institute Benjamenta for the Festival d'Avignon last year).

Text and direction Pierre-Yves Chapalain
Artistic collaboration Yann Richard
Stage design and lights Éric Soyer
Sound Géraldine Foucault
Costumes Elisabeth Cerqueira

With Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, Boutaïna El Fekkak, Julie Lesgages, Catherine Vinatier

Production Le temps qu'il faut
Co-production ExtraPôle Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur*, Théâtre de Lorient Centre dramatique national, Festival d'Avignon, Le Canal Théâtre du Pays de Redon Scène conventionnée pour le théâtre, Maison du Théâtre de Brest, L'Archipel Pôle d'action culturelle Fouesnant-Les Glénan, Les Scènes du Jura Scène nationale, Théâtre du Champ au Roy à Guingamp
With the support of Drac Bretagne, Région Bretagne, conseil départemental du Finistère
With the help of Très Tôt Théâtre Scène conventionnée jeunes publics de Quimper and of Studio-Théâtre de Vitry
Artistic residence Ferme du Buisson Scène nationale de Marne-la-Vallée

Où sont les ogres ? by Pierre-Yves Chapalain, is published by Editions Les Solitaires intempestifs.

*A production platform supported by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, bringing together the Festival d'Avignon, the Festival de Marseille, the Théâtre Nationale de Nice, the Théâtre National de la Criée, The Theaters and the Friche la Belle de Mai