A library, an audience, shelves and shelves of books, memories, characters and carefully chosen words… Welcome to Manipulation poétique, a mentalism show created especially for libraries and reading spaces. Funny and ingenious, these Petites digressions sur l’art du doute, le pouvoir des mots et la représentation de la réalité tell the story of Raoul Lambert, a man who develops hypermnesia — an extraordinary capacity to remember precise details — after being struck by lightning. He goes on to invent what he calls “éclairvoyance”. But what exactly does “éclairvoyance” mean?

One thing is certain: this is a show about magic, representation, connections, appearances and imposture, and the false certainties we so readily believe. Surrounded by books, Kevin Laval and Mathieu Pasero create an intimate relationship with the audience, inviting us, with wit and playfulness, to look at things differently and explore both our capacity for wonder and our vulnerability to manipulation.