Photo © Aglaé Bory
Created in December 2007 in Dalian (China)
With Sun Ruichen, Yu Yingchun, Ding Hong, Jiang Huimin, An Liming, Chen Jianhui,
Liu Yu, Qu Aiguo, Tan Zuoliang, Li Liang, Wang Wentao, Zhang Deqiang, Che Hu,
Zhang Benchuan
Conception, Scenography, Direction Aurélien Bory
Artistic collaboration Pierre Rigal
Translation, Direction assistants Evita De Ayguavives, Hugues Cohen
Light designer Arno Veyrat
Light, Stage manager Tristan Baudoin
Composer Raphaël Wisson
Sound, mix Stéphane Ley
Additional music Arvo Pärt
Costume designer Sylvie Marcucci
Stage manager Arno Veyrat
Technical manager in alternation Joël Abriac, Tristan Baudoin, François Dareys, Stéphane Ley, Arno Veyrat
Technical conception of sets Pierre Dequivre
In charge of set Arnaud Lucas
Set construction Atelier de la Fiancée du Pirate
Patina Emily Battersby, Charlotte Delion
Production, administration, booking
For Compagnie 111 - Aurélien Bory Florence Meurisse, Christelle Lordonné
For Scènes de la Terre Jean-Luc Larguier, Chantal Larguier, Aylana Irgit, Elsa Gangloff
Executive production in Dalian Fan Xiang Cheng, Dalian Art School
Production Compagnie 111 - Aurélien Bory, Scènes de la Terre
Executive production Scènes de la Terre
Coproduction Théâtre de la Ville - Paris, Equinoxe - Scène nationale de Châteauroux
Residencies Ecole d’art de la Ville de Dalian, Scène nationale de Sénart
With the support from Ministère de la culture / Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles Midi-Pyrénées, Ville de Toulouse, Région Midi-Pyrénées, Culturesfrance
Compagnie 111 - Aurélien Bory is under agreement with Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication - Direction Régionale Affaires Culturelles Midi-Pyrénées, Region Midi-Pyrénées, and benefits from the support from City of Toulouse and Conseil Général de la Haute-Garonne.
Compagnie 111 - Aurélien Bory benefits from the support from Fondation BNP Paribas for the development of its projects.
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Performances
from December 2007 to June 2010
DALIAN (Chine) Création Théâtre de la Ville de Dalian 30 novembre > 1 décembre 2007
PARIS Création Théâtre de la Ville 29 janvier > 3 février 2008
BREST Le Quartz 12 > 14 février 2008
BORDEAUX TnBA - Théâtre national de Bordeaux 21 > 23 février 2008
CHATEAUROUX Equinoxe - Scène nationale 29 février > 2 mars 2008
DOUAI Hippodrome - Scène nationale 7 > 8 mars 2008
REIMS Le Manège - Scène nationale 11 > 12 mars 2008
LE HAVRE Le Volcan - Scène nationale 14 > 15 mars 2008
GRENOBLE MC2 - Maison de la culture 18 > 22 mars 2008
LISBONNE (Portugal) CCB - Centro Cultural de Bélem 26 > 30 mars 2008
ANNECY Bonlieu – Scène nationale 1er > 2 avril 2008
CHAMBERY Espace Malraux - Scène nationale 4 > 5 avril 2008
LA ROCHE SUR YON Le Grand R - Scène nationale 11 > 12 avril 2008
LA ROCHELLE La Coursive - Scène nationale 21 > 23 avril 2008
NANTES Le Grand T - Maison de la culture 30 > 31 octobre 2008
NEW YORK (Etats-Unis) Brooklyn Academy of Music – BAM 5 > 8 novembre 2008
CAEN Théâtre de Caen 11 > 14 novembre 2008
SAINT QUENTIN EN YVELINES Théâtre - Scène nationale 19 novembre 2008
COMBS-LA-VILLE La Coupole - Scène nationale de Sénart 25 > 29 novembre 2008
DOLE Scènes du Jura 2 décembre 2008
VANNES Théâtre Anne de Bretagne 5 décembre 2008
AMIENS Maison de la Culture 9 > 10 décembre 2008
DRAGUIGNAN Théâtre en Dracénie 12 > 13 décembre 2008
TOULOUSE TNT - Théâtre national de Toulouse 16 > 21 décembre 2008
LONDRES (GB) Barbican Bite - London International Mime Festival 14 > 17 janvier 2009
LYON Maison de la Danse 20 > 25 janvier 2009
PAU Espaces Pluriels - Scène conventionnée 27 janvier 2009
BOULAZAC L’Agora - Scène conventionnée 29 > 31 janvier 2009
HONG KONG (Chine) French May - Hong Kong Cultural Centre 15 > 16 mai 2009
SAINT ETIENNE La Comédie - CDN 26 > 30 mai 2009
SINGAPOUR (Singapour) Singapore Arts Festival 2 > 3 juin 2009
LUBLIANA (Slovénie) Cankarjev dom - Linhart Hall 16 > 17 juin 2009
ZAGREB (Croatie) Eurokaz Festival - Théâtre National 20 > 21 juin 2009
MARSEILLE Festival de Marseille 25 > 26 juin 2009
PERTH (Australie) Perth International Arts Festival 6 > 12 février 2010
SAINT DENIS DE LA REUNION Théâtre de Champ Fleuri 10 > 12 juin 2010
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Variations on the theme of Chinese Tangram
by Philippe Noisette, Dalian, December 2007
Dalian Art School
Following his trilogy event in which this expert producer and acrobat with a degree in mathematics explored "volume", the "plane" and later the "line", Aurélien Bory felt the need to widen his horizons further still. Guided through China by Jean-Luc Larguier, this Toulouse-based member of Compagnie 111 made a halt in Dalian, a rather innovative port town that has no hang-ups about flaunting its love of triumphant modernity. Yet Aurélien Bory was to turn to something quite different when he visited Dalian's School of Art: he chose renewed tradition. Dalian is a Mecca of study and practice: it is here that the Peking Opera (a genre all to itself), acrobatics, martial arts, dance and music in particular are studied. From the theatre to the gymnasium he immersed himself in the very particular atmosphere that inhabits this school caught between two worlds: a prestigious past and an ambitious future. Even in the lively and bustling canteen he heard the performance of an "erhu" teacher (Chinese violin) and his two students. Having fallen under the spell of this instrument, Aurélien Bory was later to use it in The Seven Boards of Wisdom rehearsed and first produced in Dalian itself.
The image of an "extended" family
During the long auditions this stage director and seasoned troupe leader in exile was able to recreate a team spirit. The success of this exceptional show owes a great deal to The Seven Boards' distribution. Aurélien Bory saw some very young and some older performers: with ages ranging from 18 to 58, the resulting troupe resembles an "extended" family, the sort of family China is so fond of, with all generations going hand in hand. And after he had selected his performers, Aurélien Bory had to teach them to unlearn and forget their own skill and incredible know-how. They worked on their hand movements, practiced yoga, acrobatics and singing and little by little The Seven Boards of Wisdom came to life; the production acting as a link between the Western spirit and more Oriental philosophy, with mathematics -which are dear to the heart of the producer of Plus ou moins l'infini- serving as a common language..
Tangram: seven varied shapes
So what exactly are these Boards the Chinese call "qi qiao ban"? Tangram is a game that goes back to ancient times and is still played today. It is made up of seven variously shaped pieces: five triangles of varying size, a square and a parallelogram. Aurélien Bory gives us a 3-D version of the game, each part weighing several hundred kilos apiece, but all the spectator sees is the lightness and manoeuvrability of this winning game. Surfing on the principle of combinatory figures, which offer near infinite possibilities, Aurélien Bory has chosen to make the Chinese performers manoeuvre the parts of this game of Tangram; better still, he has invented a body-game in which the triangles and other shapes on the stage seem to swallow up the individuals. Having mastered the art of restricted spaces, Bory causes his performers –here a young boy and there a trio of clear voiced women singers- to appear or disappear.
Danger
An element of danger does exist and is actively involved in the process and reminiscent of the vagaries of circus performances. In Dalian, where the public was unused to such a contemporary approach to this ancestral precept, people were heard to utter "Oh"s and "Ah"s of surprise tainted with fear. But poetry (Compagnie 111's true mark) is what really wins the day as a row of shadows collapse as if in echo to each other, a silhouette hangs by the tips of its toes and a woman musician slides along this life-size Tangram. The tableaux follow each other in a harmony of black and white, Aurélien Bory having taken care to avoid the "Imperial Red" which has rather too many preconceived references attached to it for his liking. The Seven Boards of Wisdom are a great achievement: not only is the performance very heavily influenced by Chinese thinking right up to their understanding of Yin and Yang, it has also managed to capture a certain more modern abstraction. The onlooker is surprised by what he thinks he recognizes, which invariably turns out to be something slightly different.
Open mindedness
Musically speaking The Seven Boards of Wisdom production has also dared to embark on a voyage of the senses, with traditional songs from the Shanghai of the 30s, operatic arias and compositions by Raphaël Wisson and Arvö Part. And finally in Dalian, Aurélien Bory's loyal associates, Pierre Rigal in the lead closely followed by Arno Veyrat, Pierre Dequivre, Tristan Baudoin, Sylvie Marcucci and Stéphane Ley added the element of open-mindedness that is typical of all Compagnie 111's productions: the transplant proved a success and far more besides, each member seemingly driven by a common flame. Thus do life and wisdom prevail.
