Kurō Tanino

Maître obscur

Theatre
T2G Théâtre de Gennevilliers – Centre Dramatique National
septembersept 19 - october - oct 19

World premiere

1h30

Prices € 8 to € 24
Subscribers € 8 to € 14

T2G Théâtre de Gennevilliers – Centre Dramatique National

Thursday september 19

20h00

Friday september 20

20h00

Saturday september 21

18h00

Sunday september 22

16h00

Monday september 23

20h00

Thursday september 26

20h00

Friday september 27

20h00

Saturday september 28

18h00

Sunday september 29

16h00

Monday september 30

20h00

Thursday october 3

20h00

Friday october 4

20h00

Saturday october 5

18h00

Sunday october 6

16h00

Monday october 7

20h00

Written and directed by Kurō Tanino. Translation Miyako Slocombe. Artistic collaborations Masato Nomura, Kyoko Takenaka. Scenography Michiko Inada. Lighting design Diane Guérin. Sound design Vanessa Court. Video Boris Van Overtveldt. Props Zoé Hersent. Set construction Théo Jouffroy – Ateliers du Théâtre de Gennevilliers. With Stéphanie Béghain, Lorry Hardel, Mathilde Invernon, Jean-Luc Verna, Gaëtan Vourc’h.

Project organised by the T2G Théâtre de Gennevilliers, Centre Dramatique National; the Japan Foundation and Arche LCC
Production T2G Théâtre de Gennevilliers, Centre Dramatique National 
Coproduction Comédie de Genève ; Festival d'Automne à Paris ; Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy 

The T2G Théâtre de Gennevilliers, Centre Dramatique National and the Festival d'Automne à Paris are co-producers and present this show in co-realisation.

In what ways does the unstoppable development of artificial intelligence (AI) permeate our lives and behaviour? Kurō Tanino, playwright of the poetry of our everyday lives and the imperceptible movements of the psyche, brings to the stage a world in which technology reveals the depths of our unconscious.

Known for his realistic stage designs, the purpose of which is to convey the inherent strangeness of our contemporary existences, this new work sees the Japanese director being invited for the fifth time to the Autumn Festival. Here he presents a play inspired by his previous work The Dark Master (2016). With a cast of French performers, Maître obscur immerses five characters in a daily life rehabilitation controlled, controlled by a solitary AI device which seeks to emulate the cognitive abilities of human beings. Inside a flat or apartment from the 1970s and 1980s, a disembodied voice guides the protagonists as though they were subjects of a social psychology experiment. Over the course of seemingly insignificant actions such as cooking or drinking coffee, they build up an increasingly intimate relationship with their invisible companion. We ask ourselves the following question: is the latter some form of well-meaning master or an instrument of control? At the crossroads between philosophical tale and dystopia, Kurō Tanino's play centres upon an ingenious use of sound and video. It allows us to examine both the political dimensions of these technologies, and the subtle complexities of the human soul.

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