PPerched on her roller skates, the scripter roams the studio up and down. The actors take their place in the set, the cameras position themselves, the director takes a step back… “Motors requested… It’s running… Action! And suddenly, under the amazed gaze of the spectator, everything switches to black and white. The sets, the actors, the props: it’s like being sucked into a period film, carried along to the rhythm of the music and the set… which is moving forward!
Yet we never left the real world. Welcome to the theater of the new Puy du Fou show, THE Mime and the Star, launched with the new season this Saturday, April 8. A spectacular production as the Vendée park is used to, mixing new special effects, projections, drones and music, for which he has invested more than 20 million euros, hoping to transport the spectators into a black and white film.
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A story of love and color
The theme park was already exploring the era of the Vikings, that of the Romans, the medieval period or the Renaissance. The Mime and the Star this time embarks visitors at the beginning of the XXe century, during the Belle Époque, “this carefree, extremely creative period, of which we are all a little nostalgic without having known it”, romanticizes Nicolas de Villiers, president of Puy du Fou.
In the 1900s, cinema made its debut; it is still devoid of color and dialogue. But the director Gérard Bideau “is convinced of being able to bring color into it by filming two actors embarked on a sincere love”, explains Fabien Saye, operational coordinator of the show. It will therefore be the meeting between the mime Mimoza, a Gypsy, and the star – a star, we would say today – Garance, an actress in the making who certainly does not see herself falling in love with him.
Invited on the set, the spectator is in total immersion. From the entrance hall, he evolves in the middle of the sets and stored accessories, before sitting in the 2,000-seat grandstand made up of boxes of equipment. In this show, the Puy du Fou erases the border between the public and the stage, which is neither raised nor delimited. “We always want to offer something original and unique,” explains Nicolas de Villiers. Each show should be unique. »
Moving scenery and special effects
The centerpiece of this immersion is undoubtedly the impressive moving decor, which takes the spectators on a tracking shot – like the eye of the camera –, giving the impression of moving over two kilometers in total ( see our video report at the top of the article). The park has designed unique machinery to achieve this feat, integrated into a new 3,800 m theater2 custom built.
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On the ground, treadmills allow accessories such as streetlights or shop stalls, but also actors, to move to the rhythm of the decor. Added to this are projections on the moving decor and on the faces of the actors followed in real time by the projectors, but also by drones. “Advanced technologies”, welcomes Nicolas de Villiers, but always discreet, which must only “serve the poetry of history”.
Shades of gray
Most of the directing work was mainly to create this illusion of black and white. In this decor, nothing is in fact black or white, “everything is a variation of grey”, explains the president of the park. “We did a lot of tests, and for example, saw that a black jacket on a white shirt does not give, strangely, a black and white impression. “In the room, every detail counts, abounds Fabien Saye. “The illusion depends on very little: all it takes is a piece of skin sticking out to break everything. »
The journey would not be complete without the music, a bewitching soundtrack with notes of violin, accordion or even gypsy guitar, typical of this Belle Époque. The composer Nathan Stornetta, who has already worked on several shows at Puy du Fou, says he was inspired by the gypsy universe, the ballroom, but also the beginnings of dance jazz.
It took the park teams three years to give birth to this show, which mobilizes 40 actors, features 120 characters and requires 890 costumes. A breathtaking and incredibly successful 28-minute immersion, which confirms the know-how and creativity of Puy du Fou. The Mime and the Star joins the 17 other shows of the Vendée site, which is preparing for a new season.