[hullu]

All audiences, 8 years +

FESTIVAL OPENING SHOW

Without words

Blick Théâtre creates theatre that juggles with reality and make-believe. Their creations without words combine puppets and humans.

Two men and a woman sit on three stools in the middle of nowhere. The two men are trying to take care of the woman, but she doesn’t understand them. When she feels overwhelmed, she seeks refuge in her mind, in her own imaginary world inhabited by strange little beings. Torn between reality and fantasy, she wavers between these two worlds, not knowing how to make them coexist. But by withdrawing into her familiar world, she becomes entrapped, as the back-and-forth between reality and imagination goes haywire…

With extraordinary dexterity, the performers easily manipulate illusion and create mirages that blur the boundaries between reality and hallucination, between the norm and the incomprehensible. The puppets end up acting on their own and we lose any sense of who is manipulating whom. Humans and puppets play a shapeshifting game that turns our understanding of strangeness and strangers on its head.

Blick Théâtre juggles with reality and make-believe, taking us on a journey into a magical, yet disconcerting world where madness (hullu in Finnish) is as frightening as it is fascinating.

Based on extensive research into both mental disorders and autism, [hullu] is an invitation to let go of the familiar in order to better explore our relationships with others from an unconventional, more human point of view.

Running Time: 60 minutes
Techniques: Actors, Puppets and Illusion

 

Video

 

Photos

Company

As trained theatre and circus arts performers, members of Blick Théâtre first came together in 2006, when they founded the Le Boustrophédon theatre company. The production that brought them together, Court-Miracles, has been performed more than 500 times in France, Europe and around the world, and continues to tour.

Following this collaboration, Johanna Ehlert, Matthieu Siefridt and Loïc Apard continued to develop their artistic vision with [hullu] and created Blick Théâtre, with Dominique Habouzit as co-author. Their creative works deal with how we see the other and how we deal with difference, and offer a tender and non-judgmental look into human nature.

Credits

Story: Loïc Apard, Johanna Ehlert, Sébastien Guérive, Dominique Habouzit, Thomas Maréchal and Matthieu Siefridt
Stage Direction: Dominique Habouzit
Scenography: Patrick Konieczny and Steve Duprez
Puppet and Costume Design: Johanna Ehlert
Music: Sébastien Guérive
Lighting: Thomas Maréchal
Performance: Loïc Apard, Johanna Ehlert and Matthieu Siefridt
Puppeteer and Woman in Black: Élise Nicod

With support from the Institut français, Région Occitanie and the French Consulate General in Québec City (Service de Coopération et d’Action culturelle)