'la baraque de foire' - 2007

Work of students

Director
Serge Tranvouez

Creation at the Cnac
Decembre 2007

in Châlons-en-Champagne circus

La Baraque de Foire

 "I decided, for this work with the CNAC 2008 class, to attempt something as close as possible to a show format, in the limited time and with the means available for the exercise.
The issue is not to create theatre with circus artists, but to use the tools of the theatre to develop a global writing style and to guide a narrative. Each artist has one or more special moments (the traditional logic of the act), but they also participate in a group that is responsible for the story and global management of the show. It was with this in mind that I wanted my artistic team to participate (writing, staging, costumes, lighting and music), and I thank them for their involvement.It seemed to me of capital importance that the students moving into the professional domain should work at the heart of a real creative team. This is also the challenge of new circus: working on cross-fertilisation and exchange to invent new forms.
I often thought of Chaplin during this project. He came from the circus and his first films on a fixed camera were regulated like theatrical scenes with acrobatics and falls. This was the "slapstick" principle. His clown Charlie, developed in a cruel, miserable world. His films reveal the state of crisis in America (the crash of '29, the depression, McCarthyism, etc.), but they also tell us that dreams and laughter triumph when faced with cruelty and stupidity, and that the artistic gesture is an affirmation of the free man".