Hybrid Circus / Theatre

5. 6. 8. 9. 10 FEBRUARY 2010

at 7.30pm (no performances on the 7th)

The Japanese “kawaii” is for Karelle Prugnaud a fantasy-producing machine. From these archetypal bodies, these little girls a bit too well-mannered, and these old gentlemen who believe they are still children, she draws material telling the story of a society deep in denial of reality which attempts to normalise intimacy. What interests her is the relation between these bodies alienated from themselves and desire. Surrounded by her actors and circus artists (juggling, yo-yo, contortions, straps, etc.), she offers us a mobile electro-manga mega circus. Six very visual steps are all she needs to take us in a manga universe we couldn’t have imagined.

See the synopsis(pdf in french/53kb)

See the flyer (pdf in french/1.6mb)

See the poster (pdf in french/ 438kb)

See press book (pdfin french/1mb)

See teaching aids (pdf in french/ 864kb)

In residence: 18 January – 04 February 2010

“Babel”: Meeting with the artist Mon 8 Feb at the end of Jeremy Wade‘s show There is no more to end

“Chantier” Sat 23 Jan at 6.30pm

Artistic Practice Weekend - Cancelled

“Le mythe: entre archaïsme et contemporain” (The Myth - Archaic and Contemporary)

12 & 13 Feb 2010

KAWAII

Kawaii in Japanese means "cute". In manga and anime, kawaii characters have big eyes, a small nose and a small mouth, and childlike expressions (see Hello Kitty, Pikachu...). By-products and accessories of these characters are extremely popular in Japan and they are everywhere in the Japanese culture.

You graduated in theatre from a Lyon institution, today what are you up to?

Karelle Prugnaud : : I work more on the deconstruction of language, and the way that words can be applied to music or movement. I work on installations, at the frontier of contemporary art, or successions of paintings animated with the bodies of the performers.

Is the body then very present in your work?

I work a lot on the relation to the body, to desire, to the flesh, and the relationship between archaism, animality and human nature. I am interested in all the transformations of the body, and I also explored the field of mythological figures. How you can translate this in more contemporary relations, and more detailed figures, today’s archetypes - half-human, half-beast - is part of my work. Primal nudity transferred to a more urban context, and submitted to technology, also seems an interesting idea. I like the idea of this primal nude figure and the virtual body.

Why are you interested in manga?

Because manga characters are also aesthetical archetypes, who refuse to grow old. And because comics characters have become the conveyor for fantasies. They are clichés pushed to the extreme. I love the idea of recreating anime characters who suddenly grow stronger than reality.

The virtual world is of great interest to you, isn’t it?

What I like is to mix totally virtual images with performing arts, creating a picture which allows a certain power over the audience and a certain distance too. Personally, I am a pure product of the TV generation. I was raised like that. For us, the idea of the model is very present. For me, I want to understand how this particular model enters intimacy.

Your interest for manga is therefore linked to a fascination for icons?

Yes, and manga fans go even further in this “incorporated” fiction. When I look at Hentai pornographic anime, I find it incredible that fantasies can result from such virtual bodies and through such regressive and naive images. This is like a delayed youth which violently refuses to see the aging of the flesh, of the body, of people really. Doll figures are revered in a world where we don’t connect with life but merely run away from death. But manga is not just the story of individuals, it is today a generational movement in society which pushes thousands of people to relive their youth. There are forty year-old men, who have never been able to have a relation with a woman, and who order dolls in their image, and have a collection of figurines they dress up. The ultimate fantasy in manga is the tender, cute little girl with the clumsy boy. It is denying the ability to speak, to have real contact - only in fantasies can they be weak.

Do you find this world of the all-virtual fascinating?

Fascinating and nightmarish. I think we come closer and closer to this fantasy of relation. It is very violent. Where can we find humanity in these worlds? I feel that we are forced more and more often into patterns which do not allow us to be weak or failing.

Background

Karelle Prugnaud is an actor, director and performer trained in Lyon. Aside from her work as a performer, she has produced shows mixing photos, videos, dance and theatre, and has developed a long term partnership with Eugène Durif, whose texts she adapted on several occasions. Among her latest productions are Cette fois sans moi at the Théâtre du Rond-Point and Bloody Girl at Quartz de Brest in 2005, La Nuit des feux at the Théâtre National de la Colline in 2008 and 4 Sous d’CirQ ou Le Cirque des Gueux with the Cirque Baroque in 2009.

Yukihiro Suzuki is a circus artist, and a juggler (yo-yo, diabolo). He also practices contemporary dance and Butoh, and plays the recorder and the clarinet. He trained between 2004 and 2006 at the Centre National des Arts du Cirque in Châlons. He is the yo-yo national champion in Japan and he came second in the World Championship in Florida. He has done several courses, e.g. in juggling under Tim Roberts and Jörg Müller, dance under Yumi Fujitani, Kitsou Dubois, François Veyrunes, and magic under Raphaël Navarro, Gaëtan Bloom and others. In March 2008, he worked in Philippe Découflé’s cabaret show showcased as part as the Antipodes festival at Le Quartz.

Cast and Crew

Written by Eugène Durif.

Directed by Karelle Prugnaud.

Drawings by Princesse Connard.

Lighting by Jean-Louis Portail.

Music by BobX. Costumes by Nina Benslimane.

Videos by Gérald Groult, Maximilien Dumesnil.

With Yukihiro Suzuki, Gabrielle Jeru, Eugène Durif, Christophe Carasco, Sylvaine Charrier, Bob x, Julie Nicol, Mayumi Shimizu... and amateur actors (Gilbert Caillat, Robert Jessel, Alain Claudinon, Alain Montandon).

Costumes: Nina Benslimane assisted Anaïs Pinson

Thanks to Antonin Gellibert

Residency & Co-production: Les Subsistances / Lyon / France. With the support of: Sirque–Pôle cirque / Nexon en Limousin, Regards et Mouvements (Pontempeyrat). With the help of: the Ministry of Culture and Communication (DRAC Limousin).

Price

€12 / €9 / €6

Pass’ 2 shows Manga2:

€20 / €16

Duration

1hr approx. in movement