Performance by Ville Walo

CECI N’EST PAS UN COUPLE

A solo performance about manipulation, consent and identity, where intimacy and illusion replace the traditional idea of a couple on stage.

Ceci n’est pas un couple – performance still
Festival & theatre pitch
Solo performance Approx. 50 min Visual theatre / object manipulation, contemporary circus Intimacy · consent · identity
Ceci n’est pas un couple is a solo performance for black box and studio theatres about intimacy, consent and control. Instead of a “real” couple, the work presents a human–doll relationship where tenderness and violence continually change places, combining contemporary circus, object manipulation and a strong, AI-processed visual world.

Synopsis

Ville and Jessica are running towards eachother on a sunny deserted beach. Jessica is happy. Ville is happy. Everything is well. Small fluffy white clouds float on the sky.

Jessica has a female face and a male body. Ville has a male face and a female body. Jessica’s face looks like a haircut training head. Ville’s face looks like juggler Ville Walo. All is perfect. Waves roll on the sand. Ville and Jessica have forgotten their past wounds. They love eachother. They are happy. Wind flutters their hair. Something bad must happen soon.​

Ceci n’est pas un couple – performer with doll
On stage there is no traditional couple, only one performer and a lifeless partner – a doll. The piece invites the audience to watch how tenderness, violence and projection move across a body that is partly human, partly object, and partly image processed through artificial intelligence. The result is both intimate and unsettling: a relationship that exists only in this fiction, in this light, in the spectators’ gaze.

Themes

There’s no couple consisting of two persons on stage, and we don’t see a real life relationship. Manipulation, consent and identity take the stage. The performance grasps the current discussion about the hot topics of human relationships and self-definition. The boundary between self and other is tested by acts of tenderness and violence. Interaction is fictional and illusory in the solo performance.

When the performer handles a lifeless doll as his partner, we see how the boundary between two individuals is drawn, crossed and dissolves. Selfhood is defined in relation to the partner, who is left with the role of a beloved, fetishized or broken imaginary being. This virtuality is reflected also in how the images of the performance have been modified using artificial intelligence. There’s always something inhumane, wrong or excessive in them.

For presenters & programmers

Festival & theatre pitch

Ceci n’est pas un couple is suitable for contemporary circus and dance festivals, performing arts seasons and curated programmes focusing on identity, gender and power dynamics. The performance combines contemporary circus, object manipulation and a precise visual world.

  • Genre Contemporary circus / visual theatre solo with object
  • Format Solo performance · approx. 50 minutes · no interval
  • Language Minimal spoken text, accessible with English notes or surtitles
  • Audience Recommended age 15+ · intimate to mid-scale venues
  • Premiere WHS Teatteri Union, Helsinki, Finland, 11.09.2024
  • Production Produced by WHS
  • Context Artist talk or workshop on manipulation, object work and consent available on request

Technical rider — short version

  • Stage / space Minimum playing area 6 m (width) × 6 m (depth), free height 4 m. Black dance floor, black masking where possible, full blackout capability.
  • Sound Quality 5.1. PA with subwoofer; multi-channel playback from company laptop (6 outputs), mixing desk with min. 6 inputs.
  • Light Warm and cold front light for full stage; 2–3 specials; cue-based light plan from venue desk.
  • Set & props Doll and specific props travel with company.
  • Power & control Standard 230 V outlets on stage and at FOH; light and sound control at FOH or back of auditorium.
  • Personnel Local technician responsible for venue systems; 1 stagehand for load-in / load-out appreciated.
  • Contact Detailed technical rider available on request: technic@w-h-s.fi

Credits

Performance & concept: Ville Walo

Set & costume design: Anne Jämsä

Produced by: WHS

Premiere: WHS Teatteri Union, Helsinki, Finland, 2024

WHS · SELECT SHOW
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Ceci n’est pas
un couple
 Phantom Limb thumbnail
Phantom
Limb
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Mechanical
Circus
WHS CONTROL
TRACK
Side C · Ceci n’est pas un couple Contact: contact@w-h-s.fi