Description
This artistic and cultural education project invites around fifty pupils from Beaune's Jules Ferry secondary school to experience an immersive creative adventure, at the crossroads of theatre, writing and the visual and sound arts. Conceived by the companies 359 Degrés (France) and MARTE (Argentina), La Parallèle transforms the school into a playground for fiction, exploring the crises of our times through a poetic and engaging fable.
"Young teenagers greet adults and other pupils in an apparently deserted school. It's no coincidence: a tragedy is waiting for them. They are being devoured, slowly but inexorably, by a faceless entity, a presence impossible to fight. Everyone has given up hope... until now.
They decide to organise themselves with the help of the spectators. Equipped with red rucksacks carrying various objects and organic and inorganic waste, they move in small groups through the different spaces. Together, they try to counter the uncontrollable attraction of the faceless monster, forming an inter-species guerrilla war that makes them much stronger than they imagined.
Their collective action alters the monster's equilibrium until it collapses, and from its interior emerges an unexpected residue: "El Sorete" [The Poop]. Acclaimed by the teenagers for his eloquence, he soon becomes a revolutionary spokesman with the power to connect the minds of those who have been devoured.
However, their initial enthusiasm turns to bewilderment when they discover that change will not come from hard-hitting words alone, or from a charismatic leader who becomes progressively authoritarian. True transformation requires other forms of collective action and participation, which are deeper and more lasting."
Over a period of several months, the students take part in workshops in acting, writing, set design and sound creation. Guided by professional artists, they become the authors, creators and performers of an immersive show, presented at the end of the year in their school. The audience is invited to wander around and subtly participate in a collective story about hope, solidarity and the transformation of the world.
A project that places young people at the heart of the artistic process, in a sensitive dialogue between art and commitment.