An ancient white whale and a captain who directs his ship towards destruction. A brotherhood of rough men in a boat balanced on the surface of an infinite depth of the underwater world. Faced with the immensity of the sea, the great questions of existence arise in the human heart. Moby Dick tells the story of a whaling expedition, but it is also the story of an obsession, and an investigation into the inexplicable mysteries of life. The simple story of a sea voyage takes on another dimension through Melville´s captivating and irresistible narrative, and takes us on a dizzying dive into the human soul.
With seven actors, around fifty puppets, video projections, Moby Dick , magnificent monster of literature.
Yngvild Aspeli, artistic director of Plexus Polaire, develops a visual universe that brings to life our most buried feelings. Human-sized puppets are at the heart of his work. But the double presence of the actor-puppeteer, the music, the light and the video contribute to the creation of an extended language to serve and communicate the story. Director, actress and puppeteer, Yngvild Aspeli studied at the International School of Theater Jacques Lecoq in Paris (2003-2005), then at the National School of Puppetry Arts (ESNAM) in Charleville-Mézières (2005-2008). Within Plexus Polaire company, she created: Signals (2011), Opéra Opaque (2013), Cendres (2014), Chambre Noire (2017), Moby Dick (2020) and Dracula (2022). She is currently working on the adaptation of A Doll's House, which will premiere in the fall of 2023. “The use of life-sized puppets is at the center of my work, but the play of the actor, the presence of the music, the use of light and video, are all equal elements in communicating the story. I´m interested in the expanded language that is formed in the meeting point of these different expressions, and how it creates a multisensorial narration. A story can be told by words, but it can also be understood through a visual and physical perception. The choice of materials and colors can communicate a mood, sound can make you feel an underlying atmosphere and the quality of a gesture can express an emotion. Puppetry is a form that constantly is re-inventing itself. It goes beyond “genre”, and fearlessly crosses the borders of other artistic expressions. Puppetry is not only a form, it is a way of seeing the world, a language, a state of mind.
