In 1890, Maurice Maeterlinck wrote Les Aveugles and gave theatre its most tense moment of suspense. Twelve blind people, marooned on an island, wait for their guide to return. Between despair and fear, they are subject to worrying noises from natural surroundings that are invisible to them. They are condemned to wait, stuck on their rocks, exhausted, they do not even know anymore if it is the middle of the night or if the sun is shining. Imperceptibly, the drama becomes an absolute nightmare. Denis Marleau, a Québecois director, likes to cause disquiet on the reassuring stages of the theatre. With Maeterlinck' s play, he blurs even further the paths that go between reality and illusion. He makes Les Aveugles into a technological phantasmagoria. The video and the computer, digital and virtual all come and add to the game in this unreal-world.On the stage, the actors become luminous masks, duplicated in space. Gradually, emerging little by little from the darkness, voices invade the space, strange noises surround the spectators. It is our turn to become blind, among the blind. We strain our ears ready to catch imperceptible movements in front of us. Time becomes elastic and takes hold of us. The masks, from where the words of the blind escape are hypnotising. It is more than just theatre, it's an experience.
Distribution
stage direction Denis Marleau
an original production by: Denis Marleau
cast :Céline Bonnier, Paul Savoie
artistic collaboration :Stéphanie Jasmin
video cameraman :Pierre Laniel
sound :Nancy Tobin
video consultant :Yves Labelle
video editor :Michel Pétrin
Production
Coproduction: UBU-compagnie de création, musée d'Art contemporain de Montréal, Festival d'Avignon
UBU tient à remercier de leur soutien financier le : Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, le Conseil des arts du Canada, le conseil des arts de Montréal
ainsi que : le ministère des Affaires étrangères et du Commerce international du Canada, le ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec, le Fonds de stabilisation et de consolidation des arts et de la culture du Québec, les ambassades du Canada à Berlin et à Bruxelles, le Centre culturel canadien de l'ambassade du Canada à Paris et la Délégation générale du Québec à Paris