Le Paradoxe de John

Obie Award-winning director and scenographer Philippe Quesne is a singular figure in French theater. With Le Paradoxe de John [John’s Paradox], Quesne’s company Vivarium Studio presents a small and slightly eccentric community, lovingly rendered in his signature style of humor, care and melancholy. Paradox marks Quesne’s long-awaited return to Under the Radar for the first time in over 14 years, following his triumphant 2007 play L’Effet de Serge (UTR 2009), a subtle portrait of a lonely man’s unique and fragile fantasy world. In his new work, a sort of sequel to L’Effet de Serge, our focus falls on a tight collective of friends who construct an art gallery in an apartment. Using ghostly animated objects, striking effects, musical inventions, atmospheric composition and foam sculptures, a humorous world unfolds on the stage. Amidst the poetic and dreamlike texts of the writer Laura Vazquez, a theater of intimacy emerges amongst absurdity as a group of endearing characters embark together on gently surreal adventures. Le Paradoxe de John deftly explores the place of art in everyday life, highlighting the necessity of the artistic act, no matter how modest it may seem. John’s Paradox is performed in French and English with English supertitles.