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Musical theater at the Châtelet (FC Bergman).
And so, to the question posed six thousand years ago by Ecclesiastes—“Who has ever been able to fathom the depths of the abyss?”—two men above all others now have the right to answer: Captain Nemo and me. Jules Verne, Vingt Mille Lieues sous les mers, Paris, J. Hetzel, 1871, p. 434 At the heart of this artistic project by the Belgian collective FC Bergman, which brings together Stef Aerts, Joé Agemans and Marie Vinck, lies a score: Drumming, the longest work ever written by American composer Steve Reich. In 1970, after returning from a trip to Ghana where he studied African percussion, he spent a year composing this extraordinary piece, which premiered at the musée d’Art moderne de New York on September 3, 1971. Based on a single rhythmic motif, Drumming may appear repetitive, perhaps even motionless. Yet the composer uses the phasing technique he had mastered to perfection, and the work changes constantly, creating an entirely different relationship with time for the listener. Often cited as an illustration of minimalist music, Drumming draws on percussion, voice and silence alike. FC Bergman takes this approach—both musical and transcendental—as its source of inspiration. As the idea of Point Nemo emerges on the horizon of this new creation, the concept of an abstract response to abstract music begins to take shape. Indeed, what could be more fitting for FC Bergman—a collective whose work revolves around the “wider world” and humanity’s search for bearings in a space-time where everyone is trying to find their place—than Point Nemo, the location farthest from any inhabited land? Here, however, Point Nemo is understood not literally but figuratively, as a graveyard of hope where every attempt to control existence would be futile. Adapted, shaped and guided by the music, the stage installation gradually becomes the main character of the show. Conceived as a performance and featuring no dialogue, Point Nemo is a journey through fragments of the inhabited world, where the Garden of Eden—artificial because it is controlled by human hands—slowly falls apart. It is a way of reminding us of our own humanity: to accept the illusion of control so that we may better contemplate the beauty of life. At once an auditory, sensory and physical experience, Point Nemo is a metaphor for existence, or an ode to letting go. Behind the Work To learn more about Point Nemo, a presentation of the show will take place 45 minutes before the performance begins at the Salon Diaghilev, led by Aurélien Poidevin, editorial director of the Châtelet, on Monday, September 28 and Tuesday, September 29, 2026 (free admission, reserved for ticket holders attending that day’s performance). Post-show discussion on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after the performance
Price: From €6 to €59
Source: paris.fr — photo: Marge design