Les Misanthropes - Emmanuel Reynaud + Hannah Tasker-Poland

Say please and thank you.

Chew with your mouth closed.

Don’t gain capital.

Be happy with trickle down.

Respect your elders.

Do as you are told.

Climb the ladder.

But not too high.

Have your cake.

And eat it too.

Smear it on your face.

Wear it like a smile.

Loosen that button.

Rise up.

Storm the battlements.

Eat the rich.

We are inching closer to a powder keg moment of the 21st century. Tensions are rising, society appears more and more polarised and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening. It is time for the tea to be tipped and the resources redistributed. But when humanity, at face value, is as vile as vile can be, how do we discern the right course of action? Do we feast on the remains, or attempt to rebuild new and better?

Either way, something has to change, so:

We are revolting.

Creators + Performers: Emmanuel Reynaud + Hannah Tasker-Poland
Film Director: Garth Badger

Camera Assistant: Oliver Crawford

Editors: Garth Badger, Hannah Tasker-Poland + Emmanuel Reynaud

Score: Emmanuel Reynaud

Music: Ludwig van Beethoven ‘Symphony No.3 in E Flat Major Eroica, Op 55 - 01 - Allegro con brio’ by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording.

Photographer: Jocelyn Janon

Thank you to: Thievery Studio, First Scene, Propellor Ltd, Xin Ji, Jaimee + James Beck, Matthew Kleinhans + Russell Kingi-Smith, Nicole Christensen, The Dance Studio

Emmanuel (Manu) Reynaud (French/Australian) and Hannah Tasker-Poland (Welsh/Pākehā) are dance, movement and performance artists based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. Between them they have amassed over 30 years experience in the realms of dance, theatre, TV, film, stunts, burlesque and SPFX creature performance, working with respected companies and productions including Footnote NZ Dance, The New Zealand Dance Company, Borderline Arts Ensemble, Atamira Dance Company, Auckland Theatre Company, BodyFX NZ, Weta Workshops, ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’, ‘Ghost In The Shell’, ‘Power Rangers’, ‘Spartacus’, ‘The Hobbit’ and have toured throughout Australasia, Europe, United States and Asia as performers.

Manu and Hannah create dance-theatre works under their own brands (IVRE+MORT and projectMUSE respectively) and have come together over the last few years to co-produce and assist with each others solo works, as well as creating new works together in a collaborative partnership.