Théâtre du ChâteletCADAVRE EXQUIS

Heads from here, bodies from there. Showtime everywhere.

Context
For Olivier Py’s second season at the Théâtre du Châtelet – and Base’s 5th consecutive collaboration – the brief was loud and clear: turn up the volume. The 2025/2026 season promises an explosion of color, glitter, circus, camp, and pure theatrical joy. A season for every stage, every music, every audience. The campaign needed to channel that energy: dynamic, playful, irreverent. Fluorescent pink. Bling. A touch of bad taste (the good kind). A universe designed to make people smile – and maybe even gasp.
Challenge
The season’s lineup spanned musicals, operas, plays, and more: La Cage aux Folles, Paris Paris, L’Opéra de quat’sous, L’annonce faite à Marie, Folies Musicales, La vie Parisienne. Every production its own world, every dramaturge their own vision. The creative solution had to unify this diversity into a single, adaptable system; a grammar of images that could evolve with the program, stay cohesive across formats, and move fast without losing punch.
Solution
We drew inspiration from a Parisian invention: the cadavre exquis (or “exquisite corpse” in English). This surrealist game of collective creation, born in 1920s Paris, became the graphic playground for the season’s campaign. Characters from across the program were spliced together in colorful, chaotic, exuberant collages. Base led the art direction for the shoot, collaborating with costume designers to craft bespoke pieces built to mix, clash, and surprise. The models were all members of the Châtelet’s own staff, and the set was installed inside the theater itself – turning the theater into both stage and studio. This collaborative, homegrown approach sparked a contagious energy that radiated from the inside out, setting the tone for a campaign as playful, theatrical, and unpredictable as the season itself.

For Olivier Py’s second season at the Théâtre du Châtelet – and Base’s 5th consecutive collaboration – the brief was loud and clear: turn up the volume. The 2025/2026 season promises an explosion of color, glitter, circus, camp, and pure theatrical joy. A season for every stage, every music, every audience. The campaign needed to channel that energy: dynamic, playful, irreverent. Fluorescent pink. Bling. A touch of bad taste (the good kind). A universe designed to make people smile – and maybe even gasp.