Following "L’Effet de Serge" in 2007, Philippe Quesne returns with "Le Paradoxe de John". It is a gem of creative entertainment, formally flawless, in which he questions—with formidable irony—the place of art in everyday life. Serge’s walls, door, and bay window are repurposed for John. This naturalistic and rudimentary set design now evokes the aesthetic of an art gallery. Here is the new setting for the unprecedented adventures of a group of five eccentric characters. Serge bequeathed his apartment to Annie, who has turned it into a studio-exhibition space, where artists are invited to create from scratch—or nearly so. With all the seriousness and whimsy that such an endeavor requires, the five performers experiment with various contemporary art forms. Together, they compose an atypical, polyphonic work consisting of living tableaux imbued with an offbeat visual poetry that gives rise to absurd metaworlds.