OCÉAN

Multimedia ocean adventure for the very young and all those young at heart

The French children's play ‘Océan’ tells the story of a brave little girl who dives into a crevice in the ocean floor to save her shell and embarks on a dreamlike journey accompanied by sea creatures. The puppet plays a central role in conveying this sensitive story to the children, in a way that surprises them without frightening them. The production imaginatively combines a variety of techniques including shadow theatre, black theatre, marionettes, video projections and acoustic effects to create a playful and dazzling underwater world and will spark the children’s imaginations. Its playing with shapes, colours, sounds, images and words creates a universe that transports the young audience to a “different place” – the bottomless depths of the ocean. Here director Angélique Friant succeeds in arousing both fascination and respect for this unfathomable natural world. For Friant, the stage is a “research site” that inspires wonder, reflec- tion and dreams. Short discussions are planned with the children after the performances to help them understand the importance of the oceans as well as the dangers posed by pollution. Director Angélique Friant and her Compagnie Succursale 101 are returning to Weimar with the German premiere of ‘Océan’, following their earlier success at the festival with ‘Couac’ in 2021.