Artistic Direction: Véronique Le Gaillard
Since its creation in 2000, L’Ombrine et le Fantascope has been exploring shadow theatre. This artistic practice is combined with work in puppetry, storytelling, and theatre.
A unique and open approach
The company’s artistic constants: exploring the here and elsewhere, both spatially and emotionally; interaction between music, comedy, and shadow theatre; and reinterpreting this art form beyond its traditional oriental framework. For its creations, the company collaborates with numerous artists from different backgrounds.
Véronique Le Gaillard is the founder, beginning with her first performance, Malik Marinadol, telling the strange journey of a teenager in the land of shadows.
In 2003, she created a poetic and burlesque shadow play where death and love linger: Fantoche et Déraison. Realistic Art Nouveau-style sets were painted on Plexiglas and projected with moving lamps. Supported by Marionnettissimo and local authorities, this marked the start of a lasting collaboration with composer Romuald Berrier and actress Corinne Dupin.

Later, the company developed smaller formats for street events and performances in bars. Two giant puppets were created for musical and storytelling parades.
In 2008, a production for very young audiences, Rêve d’oiseau (Bird’s Dream), was born. This intimate piece about birth and adoption is still performed in nurseries and kindergartens. In 2009 came Chair de Lune (Flesh of the Moon), a fantastic fable about the absence of the mother and the role of the father, accompanied by musician Marc Caussanel. In 2013, responding to a commission from Stéphane Duron, she adapted a children’s book for La Halte Nomade du Livre Jeunesse: La colère de Lô (Lô’s Anger), first performed on a cloud-shaped screen at the Bellegarde Cultural Centre in Toulouse.
Meanwhile, Véronique Le Gaillard trained professionally in shadow theatre with the Italian company Gioco Vita (2003), Jean-Pierre Lescot (2010), Les Rémouleurs (2014), and in Germany with Norbert Götz (2019). She also trained in puppetry with Le Point d’Ariès and Les Anges au Plafond in 2011, and attended a masterclass with Catalan artist Joan Baixas in 2019.
With the creation of La petite musique de Makao in 2016 and L’envolée de Shemza in 2024, she explored the multiplication of screens whose diverse forms echo the stories told. A lighting and sound director, Jonas Daniel, contributes his expertise. In the meantime, she created two performances for all audiences: L’Ombre du Soufi (The Soufi’s Shadow) in partnership with Badradine Reguieg, and La dérive des continents (Continental Drift) with author Anna Reich.
The company is committed to reaching audiences distant from the stage and regularly organizes shadow theatre workshops. It is frequently supported by local authorities. Its productions have been performed throughout the greater South-West of France, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Northern France, and Morocco (Institut Français d’Agadir).
L'envolée de
ShemzaShow for ages 3 to 9
Capacity : 250 people
Duration: 45 mn
Setup time : 1h30
Stage area :
3m x 2m50La petite musique de Makao
Show for ages 2 to 8
Capacity : 180 people
Duration : 40mn
Setup time : 5h
Stage area : 5m x 3mLa colère
de
LôShow for ages 3 to 6
Capacity : 140 people
Duration : 40mn
Setup time : 2h
Stage area :
3m50 x 3m
Rêve
d'
oiseauShow for ages de 6 months to 5 year
Capacity : 120 people
Duration: 30mn
Setup time : 1h30
Stage area :
2m x 2m50