Moby Dick

In 1851 Herman Melville published Moby Dick, the story of a senseless hunt for a white whale by one man, Captain Ahab, of a frenzied and obsessive quest which eventually spells doom for the crew of the Pequod. If successive generations of readers thirsting for adventure have all been captivated by this masterpiece, it is because its story of initiation is suffused with a mysticism nature and the seas always call to mind. Faced with this mythological space which unites man to beast, beast to nature, and man to the unfathomable, director and plastic artist Yngvild Aspeli decided to play with scale and to use myriads of puppets to echo the power of the oceans. Elusive white whale, larger-than-life characters, and video to throw us off balance: it's an entire poetic world unfolding right there on the stage. Surrounded by her company Plexus Polaire, which she likes to call her “floating Babel,” Yngvild Aspeli explores the question of destiny and offers a murky and mysterious journey to all human souls.

With Alice Chéné, Pierre Devérines, Maja Kunšič, Sarah Lascar, Viktor Lukawski, Andreu Martinez Costa, Daniel Collados

Conception, direction Yngvild Aspeli
Dramaturgy Pauline Thimmonier
Music Guro Skumsnes Moe, Ane Marthe Sorlien Holen, Havard Skaset
Stage design Elisabeth Holager Lund
Lights Xavier Lescat, Vincent Loubière
Video David Lejard-Ruffet
Puppets Polina Borisova, Yngvild Aspeli, Sébastien Puech, Elise Nicod, Manon Dublanc
Sound Raphaël Barani
Costumes Benjamin Moreau
Assistant direction Pierre Tual
Outside look Paola Rizza

Production Plexus Polaire
Co-production Nordland Teater (Mo I Rana, Norvège), Figurteatret i Nordland (Stamsund, Norvège), Le Groupe des 20 théâtres (Île-de-France), Puppet Theatre Ljubljana (Slovénie), La Comédie de Caen CDN de Normandie, Bords II scènes (Vitry-le-François), TJP CDN Strasbourg-Grand Est, Festival mondial des théâtres de marionnettes de Charleville-Mézières, Le Manège (Reims), Le Théâtre (Auxerre), Le Mouffetard (Paris), Les 2 Scènes (Besançon), MA Scène (Montbéliard), Le Sablier (Ifs), Théâtre Jean Arp (Clamart), La Maison MCNA (Nevers), Théâtre Romain Rolland (Villejuif), Le Bateau Feu (Dunkerque), Théâtre Cinéma de Choisy-le-Roi, Teater Innlandet (hamar, Norvège), le POC (Alfortville), Kulturrådet / Arts Council Norway, Ministère de la Culture Drac Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Fond for lyd og bilde (Norvège), Ambassade de Norvège, la Nef Manufacture d'utopies (Pantin)
With the support of Kulturrådet / Arts Council Norway, Ministère de la Culture Drac Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Département du Val-de-Marne, Département de l’Yonne and for the Semaine d'art en Avignon : Spedidam
Co-hosted Festival d'Avignon, La Chartreuse-CNES de Villeneuve lez Avignon