La Comédie virtuelle
A virtual reality work by Gilles Jobin

17-18.10 2020 H11:30-18:30
Live shows: H15:00 & H16:00  

Imagine a theatre where you can sneak through corridors and venues amongst strange groups of viewers and dancers consisting of donuts with legs, giant stuffed animals, and shiny balloons… This theatre actually exists. It is called La Comédie virtuelle and it is the new project of Cie Gilles Jobin, an immersive multi-user project based on the digital modelling of the new building of la Comédie de Genève where visitors can virtually stroll and make surprising encounters.

In early September, the work has been selected for competition in the VR section of the 77^th Venice International Film Festival, which was held from 2 to 12 September.

The theatre, the real one, which was meant to be inaugurated in September, is still closed, due to delays in the construction sites caused by the health situation. Hence visitors will be able to discover a thriving virtual Comédie, while the real Comédie is still under construction.

On occasion of the VR fest, visitors will be able to experience from 11:00am to 6:30pm this incredible work at Istituto Svizzero or in live stream.
The virtual Comédie is also a living theatre. During this weekend, Cie Gilles Jobin will give a live performance on both days in real time (3:00pm & 4:00pm, 4 places per slot), from the company’s studios in Geneva and will be joined by dancers from Bangalore and Sidney. The public will be able to assist this live show through the four oculus devices installed at Istituto Svizzero, or to stream it.

N.B: The oculus devices will be sanitized after every use.

Gilles Jobin
Recognised for his ground breaking work in choreography, Gilles Jobin began producing dance pieces in 1995 which earned him the acclaim of both the critics and the public. He soon established himself as a leading independent choreographer in Europe. To this day, Gilles Jobin has produced over 20 works, some of which, including A+B=X (1997) and The Moebius Strip (2001), are considered benchmarks on the world stage. In 2015, Gilles Jobin received the Swiss Grand Award for Dance, awarded by the Federal Office of Culture. In 2017 he creates VR_I a dance piece in immersive virtual reality. In collaboration with Artanim. For the first time a choreographer combines dance with immersive virtual reality in a work that provides viewers with a unique sensory experience.

Furthermore, visitors will also have the opportunity to visit the exhibition „WE HYBRIDS!„, a group show featuring artists Vanessa Billy, Chloé Delarue, Florian Germann, Gabriele Garavaglia, Dominique Koch, and Pamela Rosenkranz on view at Villa Maraini from 16.10.2020 to 31.01.2021.