Cie. Maguy Marin / CCN Rillieux-la-Pape, Description d'un combat

Photo: Benoît Fauchet

A piece about a war. A slow piece about war. A super slow piece about war. A super slow piece about war that consisted of 1% movement and 99% speech. A super slow piece about war that consisted of 1% movement and 99% speech in French. The audience was not happy - they booed and hissed when they realised they weren't going to get any dancing for their money.

Me, I just didn't understand. First of all the French people in the audience, who could actually understand what was happening on stage (my French is poor yes). Second, why Marin neglected to translate such a piece of work into English? Was that a conscious choice? I kind of doubt it, since I last week learned that Maguy Marin is a woman who always tries to make everyone understand, even if she has to say things in four different languages.

The irony of this whole thing was that the piece, with the theme being war and all, created an unbelievably loud, hostile and aggressive reaction in the crowd.

Alain Buffard, Les Inconsoles

Photo: Marc Domage

They were sometimes identical, sometimes naked men torturing each other, playing with each other, or fighting each other like angry dogs. Their behaviour was surreal, fragmented.

Inside a white box their bodies projected shadows in different sizes, shapes, images and perspectives - images that were easier to take in, however less interesting.

Superamas, factory2 - "Youdream" in process comedy

Photo: Gainnina Urmeta Oetiker

Weird experience. Nothing happened. They were just filming. I thought I was there for a performance - you know, the kind where people go on stage and entertain you. But no, it was apparently just an open work situation. Hence the end of the title: - in process comedy. Duh! But if they were really filming this means we, the audience, also might go on screen as this piece will become both a television and theatre show, if I got it right that is. Audience exploitation?

Fumiyo Ikeda / Tim Etchells, in pieces

Photo: Hermann Sorgeloos

I felt so impatient. Agitated. I wonder what got into me. Maybe because of the fact that the piece dealt with time in a choreographic structure that seemed conventional and predictable... I kept shifting around in my seat, and when Fumiyo towards the end of the piece shouted at us "Get up! Get up. Go away" - or something, I was so ready. To get up and go away. A pretty weird moment though. She didn't really want us to respond to her question in any way, but then what's that about?

It was a dance piece, and Fumiyo moving solo on stage was delicate. Her movements seemed genuine, but when she spoke it suddenly didn't stay so real anymore. There was something in the delivery that didn't quite work - it sort of seemed imposed.