SATURDAY, 22 JULY 2017
Between 2pm to 6pm (selon les conditions de navigation) : ARRIVÉE DU RADEAU
7pm > 10pm : TABLÉE UTOPIQUE
11:30pm > 00:30am : PROJECTION « FLOTTANTE » DU FILM « ILE-ERRANCE » DE CLEMENT SCHNEIDER
SUNDAY, 23 JULY 2017
3pm > 5pm : ATELIER DE CUISINE UTOPIQUE
5pm > 6pm : BUVETTE UTOPIQUE
6pm > 7pm : REPRÉSENTATION DU SPECTACLE « L’UTOPIE D’APRÈS THOMAS MORE ».
From 7pm : GRANDE FÊTE UTOPIQUE
It all began with the rediscovery of English humanist Thomas More’s “Utopia” (1516). Five centuries later, Simon Gauchet and Yann Lefeivre began the quest for the mythical island of Utopia and its “ideal society”, sailing along the Ille-et-Rance Canal to the ocean with a raft and a crew of artists, architects and scientists. Their journey was officially launched on Sunday 27 March 2016 during the Dimanches à Rennes, then three months later for their grand departure at the Festival on 3 July, so it made sense for LE RADEAU UTOPIQUE to end its voyage at the Étangs d’Apigné for their return one year later.
During the summer, the crazy evolving expedition had made its way up the Ille-et-Rance Canal in stages, all the way to Saint-Malo. At each stage, rehearsals, discussions, games, the establishment of the office of imaginary maps, utopic meals and evenings, choirs, and departure ceremonies were held so that anyone could play their part in the utopic community project and help the crew reach the sea. The journey from Rennes to Saint-Malo is retold in the documentary “Île-Errance”, directed by Clément Schneider, the Radeau project’s archivist and filmmaker, and will be screened on the raft’s sails during a floating movie/concert on the Saturday night.
The expedition then continued its sea voyage this past winter, before its triumphal return to the port of Saint-Malo in late May to begin its multi-leg journey up the Canal (Cale de Taden, Évran, St Judoce, St Domineuc, Hédé-Bazouges, Guipel, Saint Germain sur Ille, Betton). The maritime quest will be retold the next day with the production “L’Utopie d’après Thomas More”. The raft will be transformed into a floating stage for a stationary journey telling the story of the sea expedition that departed from Saint-Malo on 10 August 2016. Did the crew discover the Island of Utopia and survive their fantastic adventures on the ocean?
The culmination will come with a big utopic party (Grande Fête Utopique) to celebrate this wonderful yet slightly crazy project that has continuously pushed back the borders of reality.
BIOGRAPHY
The RADEAU UTOPIQUE project was created by the Rennes-based association “L’École Parallèle Imaginaire”, mostly made up of former students from the École du Théâtre National de Bretagne, l’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Bretagne and l’École des Beaux-Arts de Rennes. L’ÉCOLE PARALLÈLE IMAGINAIRE (EPI) was established by Simon Gauchet (actor, director, artist and anthropologist) and Yann Lefeivre (actor, director and ethnologist) in 2010. It is a utopic school, an experimental participatory project and a place where students and teachers work together swopping roles and sharing ideas. It is a place for exploring the relationships involved in teaching and offering innovative learning experiences in an informal organisation of some sixty European young people, to create projects that combine experimentation, communication and artistic production. EPI has already presented various experiences at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, l’École du Théâtre National de Bretagne, l’École Supérieure d’Architecture de Bretagne and the Maison Internationale des Poètes et des Écrivains de Saint-Malo, with productions like “Es-kola P.Interno”, “Le Mouvement M”, “L’Expérience du feu” and “Pergamon Altar (faire voyager les ruines)”. LE RADEAU UTOPIQUE is EPI’s latest production. Its form falls somewhere between community celebration, citizen forum and live performance, and is powered by the imaginations of the people of the Côtes-d’Armor and Île-et-Vilaine in dialogue with Thomas More’s book.
After a yearlong voyage, LE RADEAU UTOPIQUE will end its multi-leg journey before setting sail again to explore the world in search of UTOPIA.
DISTRIBUTION
Une création de : Simon Gauchet
Navigateur: Nathan Bernat / Architecte: Matthieu Blin / Cartographe: Inès Cassigneul / Anthropologue et directeur de l’expédition: Simon Gauchet / Ingénieur propulsion: Arnaud Louski-Pane / Scribe: Karine Piveteau / Ethno – musicologue: Joaquim Pavy / Capitaine du radeau: Alice Rüest / Intendante: Catherine Pascal / Cuisiniers (en alternance) : Stéphanie Le Nocher, Jean-François Jousseaume et Ali Boudouya
