29 September 2014

The thing with Cirque Plume that has been enchanting us so much for the past 30 years...

Ce truc en Plume qui nous enchante depuis 30 ans... | (presse_tempus) {PDF}Already three decades have gone by in which this circus company, led by Bernard Kudlak, has been breathing humanity, tenderness and delicate, simple, authentic poetry into the traditional arts of the circus-ring. They are celebrating this particular anniversary in true style with "Tempus Fugit?" which will be at the Espace Chapiteaux of the Villette until the 28 December. It would really be a shame to miss these celebrations which will clearly bring joy to all: theatre-goers, performing arts connoisseurs, popular or cutting-edge culture fans, the young, the old, locals and tourists alike.

Plume is an enchanting motley collective of multi-disciplinary artists, all actors, acrobats and musicians at the same time. A tiny community who welcome you into their own unique world, a world where the most enticing burlesque meets the ultimate in grace and elegance. A place where pianos descend from the sky or the floorboards roll with laughter or clowns juggle with red circles of light which then become a red nose or where one ups and flies away without saying a word or huge droplets of glass dance with infinite grace symbolising the flight of time, the passage of time ("Tempus Fugit"...). Plume is all about Benoit Schick’s original live music, at once enchanting, moving and euphoric as it transfixes the acts and accompanies them to the most unexpected of places. These are scenes where honesty and solidarity overcome showing off, even through the performances themselves are breathtaking in terms of their technique.

For indeed: Whether they are tightrope walkers, trapeze artists, balancing acts... Whether they are on a ball, inside a wheel, hanging from a Chinese pole.... Whether they are juggling with a hat, making us roll with laughter or shiver with fear... all of the acts are clearly the result of unstinting hard work, unequalled precision and are thus literally breath-taking.

Their journey, this "ballade for a lost road" moves the whole of the audience, moved to tears for it is sadly in the absence of Robert Miny, their co-founder and long-standing composer who died two years ago. We are deeply moved by this thing that dwells within Plume, which could well be that thing we call a soul, which so often seems to go missing these days...

Don’t miss it!