VALSPEC - Chansons pour le musée

Theatre & Music

Ages: 8+
Duration: 55 minutes

This is the rockest museum visit you could ever imagine!

In the middle of the night, Karine‑pas‑Sauvé finds herself alone in an exhibition hall, surrounded by works of art. She must observe them, choose the one she identifies with… and sing to it! This unusual assignment was prescribed as a remedy by the intriguing Psyquelette—an osteopath of the soul, as renowned as he is eccentric—to help her heal from heartbreak following the collapse of her family cocoon.

Still, it’s deeply unsettling to sing to a lump of clay, a porcelain sculpture, or an installation made of scraps of paper! But what if this skinless therapist actually knows what he’s doing?

Accompanied on stage by musician, sound artist, and sonic magician Nicolas Letarte‑Bersianik, performer Karine Sauvé sings with her heart wide open about life and emptiness. She shifts from octopus to tardigrade, shatters into a thousand pieces, flees like a fugitive, and moves through a wide range of emotional states—bringing the audience along with her every step of the way.

Sculpting sound with an array of button‑filled modules, the two performers play with synthesizers, microphones, pedals, and other machines to bring Karine‑pas‑Sauvé’s sensitive and gripping quest to life. With Chansons pour le musée (Songs for the Museum), Mammifères presents a wildly inventive theatrical concert—equal parts organic and electronic—that reveals, one song and one artwork at a time, the mysterious and unexpected powers of art.