Kristoff K. Roll
In the Shadows of the Waves
Audio-speaking Siestas Library of Dream Stories
© © Jean-Gabriel Valot ©
Concept, composition, performance, Carole Rieussec & Jean-Kristoff Camps
Lighting, Jean-Gabriel Valot
Video, Jérémie Scheidler
Staging, Magali Murbach
Coproduction: La Pop (Paris); Festival d’Automne à Paris // Joint production: Palais de la Porte Dorée (Paris); Festival d’Automne à Paris for performances at the Palais de la Porte Dorée // Joint production: La Pop (Paris); Festival d’Automne à Paris for performances at La Pop // With support from the Region of Occitania and SPEDIDAM // In collaboration with Teatro a Corte, Institut Français, Festival D-CAF, Ganz New Festival, Holland Festival, Brighton Festival, Association Kolone, Auberge des migrants, Le Channel: scène nationale de Calais, CRR - Paris, Oriental Languages Institute, Piraeus Diversity Festival, Festival météo, Terni international Performing Arts Festival // With support from SACEM.
The duo named Kristoff K. Roll presents electro-acoustic improvisations alternating with dream stories which have been collected since 2007 and now form a library.
The tales are told in the original languages (including Fur, Croatian, Pashto, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, and Russian), with occasional translations, as voices form a halo around a sound matrix, drawing the audience into a dreamlike journey. Each performance is unique, with an original work being produced live in situ, presenting two or three dreams from the library. The improvisations are nursed and guided by these stories. At the beginning of the performance, a few sounds coming from the venue itself are selected: the sound of a door, of people walking, crowd noise; then the universe shifts towards the inner world of the audience. It is a long journey through languages and sound, each person forming an empathetic bond with the community of dreamers around the world. There are no borders. There are the dreams of refugees and migrants as told in the “Jungle” settlement in Calais, next to the English Channel; and they are followed immediately by dream stories of students in Zagreb.
Dreams are recounted and sound textures appear; cultures and timelines take shape, mutually, freely fitting together. Music provides incentive for members of the audience to produce their own images, to invent their own version for the stage. In countries where the dream stories have been collected, In the Shadow of the Waves is often performed outdoors. This autumn, multilingual dreams (with some French translation) will be presented in venues that Kristoff K. Roll will bring to life.