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. I just didn’t understand, first of all the French, who actually were able to understand what was been said on stage, second, why Maguy neglected to translate it into English. Was that really 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 escapade 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 Inconsolés

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. It was hard to follow. Inside a white box their bodies projected shadows in different sizes, shapes, images and perspectives, which were easier to take in, although less interesting in comparison to the rest, which was stimulating at times. I wasn’t referring to the nudity just then.

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. Isn’t that exploitation? Hey, Superamas, pay me.

Fumiyo Ikeda / Tim Etchells, in pieces

Photo: Hermann Sorgeloos

I felt so impatient. Totally agitated. I wonder what got into me. Maybe the fact that the piece dealt with time in a choreographic structure, which seemed somewhat conventional and predictable. Anyway, 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. But that was actually pretty weird. Why did she approach the audience like that without meaning it? She didn’t really want us to respond to what she was asking, but then what’s that about?

It was a dance piece, and Fumiyo moving solo on stage was delicate. Her movements seemed genuine, but as soon as she would open her mouth and speak, it suddenly didn’t stay so real. It sort of seemed imposed. She would count a lot – as in, say a number out loud and then dance or speak. The piece was the most interesting, when she was still counting without telling us what she was counting. At this point, the numbers represented anything. The very little joy I found in this was soon in pieces (yes, I was bored).