When a museum transforms into a theater, what does it become? The Night of Wonders, of course. In the form of a play, the company Le Temps de l’Iris offers a candlelit tour of the Musée des Merveilles in Tende to discover 7,000 years of history in a different way. This work, written and directed by Benoit Galera, is presented from July 16 to 23, 2011, and from August 6 to 13, 2011, from 8 PM to 11 PM. Entry is free.
« 7,000 years of history… How do you tell 7,000 years of history?
A valley, men, wives, humor, and solitude. It’s discovered by candlelight. »
In Tende, the theatrical company Le Temps de l’Iris takes you on an amazing and surprising journey. A journey that will lead you to wander through the Musée des Merveilles, a candle in hand and your mind wide open.
As you tour, the history of the Vallee des Merveilles is narrated to you. This valley, which alone encompasses 7,000 years of our history, the history of the world. All of this is interwoven with humor and poetry, originality, and beauty.
The idea, script, and direction stem from one man: Benoit Galera. A young and ambitious local from Nice whose fanciful and more than fertile imagination has given birth to an extraordinary play.
« This show is not about a historical reenactment but about using archaeology to inspire the audience while unveiling the Vallee des Merveilles. For the seventy centuries before us are as many roots that forge who we are. »
The journey seen through three pairs of eyes.
The play, as delightfully inscrutable as it may be, revolves around three axes:
It begins with the magic of the Valley. « It is a poetic being, a witness to the evolution of men, their dreams, their courage, but also their absence in its glaciers. »
It continues with a man, Otzï. « Living 5000 years ago, he was a modern man for his time and, humorously, he does not hesitate to be for ours. He reveals his life and death in the style of police series. »
And it is accompanied by the Shepherd: « He spans 7,000 years in 20 minutes. From the creation of music to village festivals concluding months of solitude in the pastures, he recounts his daily life. Made of imagination, hopes, and labor, he engraves it in the rock over millennia. »
Let yourself be taken on a forty-minute dream in the Vallee des Merveilles, at the museum of the same name, in Tende, from July 16 to 23, 2011, and from August 6 to 13, 2011.
