For its second edition, the Transforme festival presents twelve interdisciplinary performances and a touring programme curated by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès and its four partner institutions: the Théâtre de la Cité Internationale in Paris, La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand, Les SUBS in Lyon and the Théâtre National de Bretagne in Rennes.
Bringing together exacting standards and accessibility, Transforme's programme unfolds across these four structures, with the support of the Foundation, which also accompanies selected artists in the creation of their works.
Performance works in sync with the contemporary age
This programme stands out for the transversality of its forms and the social issues that are approached through a wide variety of registers. Compagnie UNA proposes a socially-engaged and feminist subversion of collective sports with Derby. Euripides Laskaridis offers an equally energetic experience with his searing new work Lapis Lazuli, which explores the figure of the werewolf in our contemporary world through the intersection of dance, visual art and burlesque. Boudoir by Steven Cohen offers a tragic counterpoint to this work, one in which density and metamorphosis open directly onto the political.
The political is indeed woven into a number of pieces in this year’s programme, some of which interrogate, for example, our ways of living together in this plural world. In her piece _jeanne_dark_, which moves between fiction and reality, between theatre and the virtual, Marion Siéfert dramatizes the trials and tribulations of a contemporary teenager in search of emancipation as she confronts the gaze of others in real time. In a documentary register, the protagonists of Radio Live – La Relève by Aurélie Charon and Amélie Bonnin spontaneously share their experiences and hopes, whether directly from the stage or from far-flung places. Théo Mercier immerses us in a spectacular dystopia with Skinless, which unfolds in monumental ruins and gives rise to a poignant allegory of an impossible love story. What world do we want to leave to future generations? This weighty social question is at the heart of Memory of Mankind by Marcus Lindeen and Marianne Ségol, while Les Corps incorruptibles by Aurélia Lüscher takes on the equally profound question of our relationship to the deceased through a piece that is visual and theatrical in equal measure and where the real blurs with the imaginary.
Faced with things that seem beyond our apprehension, some artists of this year’s festival have looked to the creative potential of technology, such as NSDOS and their project DDOS, which draws inspiration from the world of hacking, envisaged as a positive and mutually enriching practice. Others imagine extravagant fables, such as Les Chats ou ceux qui frappent et ceux qui sont frappés by Marlène Saldana and Jonathan Drillet, which features a claustrophobic and phantasmagoric music-hall matinée. Others still, turn more simply to light: Vania Vaneau flirts with the intangible in the almost-ritual choreography of Heliosfera. In a diametrically opposed but equally radical gesture, Romeo Castellucci brings to the stage the incommensurable solitude of a queen, Bérénice, who is transfigured by Isabelle Huppert, the very embodiment of theatre. In their own way, each of these artists pushes back the limits of creation.
An edition expanded through the programming of the UMAA
Similarly driven by a desire to explore new possibilities, choreographer Olivia Grandville has devised the Unité Mobile d’Action Artistique (UMAA): this inflatable structure, made up of several bubbles and entirely modular, has been designed to be set up in the different cities in which Transforme takes place. It will play host to exhibitions, performances, parties and working sessions, as well as functioning as an agora to welcome encounters, talks and meetings. Constantly reinvented as it travels across France, this protean installation looks to be as porous as the fabric from which it is made, blending outside and inside, artists and public, creative space and the public space.
‘Going Further’ with the artists of Transforme
For this second edition, Transforme continues to pursue its aim of setting in motion artists and audiences alike, inviting them to ‘go further’ and deepen their understanding of the works. Each of the partner theatres is thus organising a range of initiatives to enable artists to encounter audiences in different ways, for example by accompanying them on visits to local areas. In addition, a number of inclusive measures have been devised to address audiences with disabilities as well as younger generations of spectators.
Through this programme, and following individual affinities, each of us is warmly invited to change the way we look at the world.
