Photo : Agathe Poupeney
Guillaume & Harold • A show by Gaëlle Bourges
Forget hushed museum galleries and dive instead into this wild medieval epic where two performers bring the Bayeux Tapestry to life using nothing but cardboard and imagination. With a clever mix of sharp wit, dance, and even a dash of ABBA, this production turns historical drama into a laugh-out-loud serial. It is the perfect creative outing to rethink the past with a fresh and playful perspective.
La Maison des Métallos (Paris 11th)
About
La Maison des Métallos presents Guillaume & Harold by Gaëlle Bourges on November 19 and 20, 2026. This choreographic performance reimagines the Bayeux Tapestry using cardboard and imagination, turning medieval history into a vibrant, witty series. Suitable for audiences aged 6 and up, the show is wheelchair accessible and features provisions for visually impaired guests. Each 40-minute performance starts at 19:00, blending art history with a critical, contemporary perspective. It is an ideal outing for families looking to explore artistic heritage through a playful, inventive lens at a venue deeply connected to the city's cultural life.
On stage, two performers take hold of a heritage treasure: the Bayeux Tapestry. But here, there are no museums or display cases – history comes to life with a few pieces of cardboard and a good dose of imagination. Enough to take young and old on a journey through this revisited, funny, and inventive medieval soap opera.
With mischievous humor, the dancers unroll the 70 meters of the famous embroidery like episodes of a series: hurried heroes, express battles, a playful narrator, and... an ABBA song to wrap it all up – because, after all, we must honor the queens as much as the kings!
Like this show, which combines text and images to make history and its representation accessible to children, without watering down its plot twists or the resolution, Gaëlle Bourges' work of artistic "deconstruction" continues its path in contact with art history and its most expressive forms, while injecting a welcome critical discourse.
Marie Plantin, ScenewebWith the Playground festival, organized by the Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis
Around the show
Parent/child workshop: making props and stage accessories (WED. NOV. 18, 2026｜3pm—5pm)Duration 2h
For children aged 6 and up and their parents
Price €10
Reservation recommended
This parent/child workshop is designed as a playful immersion into the visual and stage world of Gaëlle Bourges' show Guillaume & Harold. Through the creation and movement of cardboard objects and silhouettes, discover how simple materials — cardboard, kraft paper, or plastic tarps — can become material for telling stories and creating moving images.
The content of the workshop is centered around the Bayeux Tapestry, a major source of inspiration for Guillaume & Harold. Accompanied by a dancer from the Compagnie OS, also a performer in the show, you will choose one or two episodes of this famous medieval fresco, then recreate them in the form of cutout cardboard silhouettes, similar to the objects manipulated in the play: boats, horses, swords, or even shields. Certain materials also allow for recreating landscapes and stage effects, such as the plastic tarp used to evoke the sea and voyages.
Throughout the workshop, you will experiment with different ways to bring these forms to life: moving an army, making a wave rise, composing a battle scene, or inventing a voyage. You will explore how a still image becomes movement, how very simple objects can produce representational effects, and how collective play allows for building small stories inspired by the world of the show.
A creative and playful workshop to share as a family, to dive behind the scenes of making sets and accessories for a show and to experience the links between visual arts and performing arts.
Exchange with the artistic team at the end of the performance.
Tactile tour of the stage (FRI. NOV. 20, 2026｜6pm)Explore the set and the world of the show thanks to a tactile tour of the stage, specially designed for blind and visually impaired people.
LSF adaptation by Lucie Lataste (FRI. NOV. 20, 2026｜7pm)The performance on Friday, November 20, will be adapted into LSF (French Sign Language).
; Credits : Agathe Poupeney ; Credits : Agathe Poupeney ; Credits : Agathe Poupeney ; Credits : Agathe Poupeney ; Credits : Agathe PoupeneyOur take on this event
Experience a unique take on the Bayeux Tapestry as two performers bring the legendary 70-meter embroidery to life through a witty, series-like narrative. Using humble cardboard props and a touch of ABBA, Gaëlle Bourges deconstructs historical tropes to create a clever and engaging performance. The show runs on Thursday, November 19, and Friday, November 20, 2026, from 19:00 to 19:40. Tickets are available at 15€ for standard entry, with reduced rates of 10€ and 5€. The venue is fully wheelchair accessible, ensuring a welcoming environment for all guests aged 6 and older.
Organized by the Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis as part of the Playground festival, the event includes several additional activities. A family workshop on November 18 from 15:00 to 17:00 invites participants to create stage props for 10€ (reservation recommended). On November 19 at 17:45, a tactile stage tour is offered for blind or visually impaired attendees, followed by a post-show Q&A with the artists. Additionally, the Friday, November 20 performance at 19:00 will be interpreted in French Sign Language (LSF) by Lucie Lataste.
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