Kirill Serebrennikov's Barocco: a hard-hitting show at Nanterre-Amandiers

On October 25 and 26, 2025, the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers welcomes Barocco, created by Kirill Serebrennikov, a Russian director whose work is marked by the struggle against censorship and authoritarianism. Under house arrest in Moscow in 2018, Serebrennikov has conceived this show as an artistic and political manifesto, driven by the energy of revolt. Initially presented at Hamburg's Thalia Theater, Barocco stands out as a sensory and committed work, hybrid in form and deeply rooted in contemporary history.

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Through a mosaic of emblematic figures - the students of May '68 in Paris, Valerie Solanas shooting Andy Warhol in New York, and Jan Palach immolating himself in Prague - the show traces solitary but determined acts of resistance. Between these events, Serebrennikov weaves a symbolic thread using Baroque music, itself revolutionary in its time. Bach, Handel and other composers become fellow travelers in a theater where body, image and sound intertwine to amplify the cry of those rising up against oppression.

The show is conceived as an explosive, spectacular composition, combining dance, theater, video projections and baroque arias. The aesthetic is deliberately contrasted: between sublime beauty and kitschy touches, between intimate pain and vital energy. The spectator is invited to journey through powerful tableaux, traversed by extreme emotions and gestures of resistance. The image of a pianist playing with one hand, the other handcuffed to that of an invisible officer, embodies the tension between creation and domination, hindrance and free expression.

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Barocco is aimed at audiences interested in hybrid theatrical forms, rich visual universes and politically assertive statements. Audiences interested in baroque music, contemporary dance or committed theater will find it a powerful sensory experience. On the other hand, those who prefer linear narratives or purely fictional theater may be disoriented by this fragmented form at the crossroads of disciplines.

Presented on October 25 and 26, 2025 at Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, Kirill Serebrennikov 's Barocco is a visual, musical and theatrical tribute to those who dare to defy the established order. Between historical figures and baroque outbursts, the show unfolds a manifesto both intimate and political, shot through with rage, beauty and hope.

This article is based on information available to date and is not based on a viewing of the show.

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