CIE STUPEFY / RÉMY BERTHIER
Swami
Suitable for 13+
1h15
An immersive experience blending mind-reading, magic, and virtual reality. In Swami, Rémy Berthier draws on a deeply personal ordeal—the loss of all his belongings in a fire—as raw material for the stage. The result is a work that hovers between illusion, storytelling, and technological immersion.
In this new work, Rémy Berthier brings together two worlds rarely seen side by side on stage: magic and virtual reality. Drawing from a traumatic experience—the sudden loss of all his belongings in a fire—he creates a piece of autofiction where illusion becomes a tool for reflection. The main character, a double of the artist himself, seeks refuge from collapse in a virtual reality headset. Each audience member is in turn invited to wear a headset, immersing them in a mental space where perception, illusion, and belief become indistinguishable. This encounter between the art of sleight of hand and technological immersion opens a rift in our relationship to reality. Gradually, reference points shift, reality drifts, and the boundaries between what we see, what we believe, and what we imagine begin to blur.
An immersive experience that weaves together mind-reading and digital technology, confronting each viewer with the inner workings of their own perception.
More dates available here →
Supported by La Villette as part of Magic Wip and by Espace Périphérique
Conception and Performance Rémy Berthier Dramaturgy Collaboration Groupe Fantôme Artistic and Scientific Collaboration Fleur Hopkins-Loféron VR Engineering Quentin Misslin Sound Design Dylan Foldrin Administrative Support Yasna Mujkic Project Development Support Nicolas Rosette Apnea Support Dan Arbogast Production Compagnie Stupefy
Co-productions and Support Ministry of Culture – Innovative Digital Services, La Villette EPPGHV Paris, Magic Wip and Compagnie le Phalène, Espace Périphérique, the cities of Goussainville, Gonesse, and Villeparisis within the framework of a territorial residency, the Île-de-France region, city of Montreuil, Val d’Oise department, OFQJ Elektra Biennale Montréal project, Chimères program of the Ministry of Culture supported by Le Lieu Unique – Scène nationale de Nantes, Théâtre Nouvelle Génération – CDN de Lyon (TNG), in partnership with L’Espace des arts – Scène nationale de Chalon-sur-Saône and Le CN D – Centre National de la Danse.
Thanks Clémentine Schmidt with whom we imagined “Les inconscients”, all participants in the Chimères project, as well as Marc Rigaud and Martin Ageorges.
More dates available here →
Practical information
Little Villette
Metro
Line 5 - Porte de Pantin station
Tramway
Line 3b - Porte de Pantin station
Bus
Bus 75, 151 - Porte de Pantin stop
Parking
Q-Park
Philharmonie
Q-Park
Cité de la Musique - La Villette
Q-Park
Cité de la Musique - Conservatoire
Parking
Cité des Sciences
Bike Chap
Vélib' docking points
Bike racks
Bike racks are available inside the Espace Chapiteaux area. You may leave your electric bike there with the battery attached.
This venue is:
- Accessible to individuals with reduced mobility.
- Inaccessible to deaf individuals without accompaniment.
- Partially accessible to individuals with hearing aids.
- Accessible to visually impaired and blind individuals.
- Several dining options available in the park before or after the show, discover them HERE.
Access to the venue is subject to a security check.
- The following are prohibited: all glass containers, sharp or blunt objects, weapons of any kind or replica weapons, animals except guide dogs for the blind, large luggage or bulky bags, and batteries for electric bikes or scooters.
- Security officers have sole discretion over which items are allowed or not.
- Bringing food into the performance hall is not permitted.
