Philippe Quesne (1970) attended art school in Paris before working as a production designer in the theatre and opera for ten years. In 2003 he founded Vivarium Studio, a laboratory for theatrical innovation where actors, visual artists and musicians come together. Here he creates productions that truly form their own biotope, allowing him to dissect the human microcosm, often with a gently ironic touch. After La Démangeaison des ailes (2003) Quesne created works including Des expériences (2004), D’après nature (2006), L’Effet de Serge (2007) – winning him an Obie Award at the Under the Radar Festival in New York - La Mélancolie des dragons (2008), Big Bang (2010) and Swamp Club (2013). That same year Philippe Quesne also made Anamorphosis together with four Japanese actresses at the Komaba Agora Theater in Tokyo. Next Day was a production he made with a group of children in 2014 at the CAMPO arts centre in Ghent. Quesne has exhibited his installations at various expositions and also designs performances and interventions for public spaces. Since 2014, Philippe Quesne has been co-director of the Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, Centre Dramatique National. In 2016 he created Caspar Western Friedrich at the Münchner Kammerspiele and was guest of honour at the Brussels Kunstenfestivaldesarts with La Nuit de taupes (Welcome to Caveland!). In 2018 he directed his first opera, Usher, which premiered at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, for which he also created the stage design. This year Quesne is also responsible for the artistic direction of the 2019 Prague Quadriennale. This performance of Crash Park, La vie d’une île marks Quesne’s debut at the Holland Festival.