An archeologist of the ordinary is how Michel Laubu describes himself. He has forged a particular identity for the Turak Théâtre out of a question, “How can one write about the wear and tear of an object?” So in his workshop, nothing is lost, it all waits. In the time that he has shaped, the object is a pretext for invention, poetry, for putting a universe, a fable or mythology on stage.
His pieces are built on a model of fun and poetry. One example is the ‘penguin feeling', which is the basis for a series of productions giving a certain vision of the world with a certain awkwardness. The meticulousness of the craftsman's gesture, his extreme care of the object and of its imagination are the guiding lines of this visual and ephemeral object theatre, and for everyone because it goes straight to the heart of things, delighting in human sentiments, asking about life through time and vision..
There is an unclassifiable phenomenon which travels everywhere in the world. It's called the Turak Theatre and plastic arts are as much part of it as contemporary puppets. Here, anything can be invented or dreamed up out of almost nothing. Using ordinary objects, worn by time, Michel Laubu, the company's founder and director, collects objects, sorts them, labels them and patiently watches them. As an archaeologist of imagination, his story of a world is told by giving everyday objects a new role.
In Depuis hier. 4 habitants (Since yesterday. 4 residents), four composite characters take the stage. Their faces are made out of driftwood found in the Durance River in the South of France. Some of these nameless faces wear strange headgear, have alarmed or cheeky looks, and get excited about the slightest thing.
Their theatre is a skeletal tent, their stage is framed by some tables and with the help of the actor-puppeteers, the characters come to life.
Their tales spring from the company's trips and visits to various countries. In this performance there are four stages – France, Syria, Russia and Indonesia. Michel Laubu asks “what does it mean to live here?” and from that question is able to express time, the age of the characters as well as the places, landscapes and cultures they encountered and in so doing he creates several layers of meaning.
Depuis hier. 4 habitants, (Since yesterday. 4 residents) is like a gallery containing four portraits, revealing a sort of geometric picture of ordinary solitude. Are we in four different places in the world at the same time? Are we in the same place in four different moments or with the same person at four different times of our lives?
These picture stories offer us a different place from where to look at the world and compose a family album where everyone can express their own fantasy. This performance offers four variations in the form of an imaginary personal diary where what is everyday and ordinary turns epic.
Irène Filiberti
Distribution
de et par : Michel Laubu
avec la complicité de : Emili Hufnagel
bricoleurs à vue : Emmeline Beaussier et Charly Frénéa
lumières : Dominique Legland
Production
Production : Turak théâtre
en coproduction avec : le Volcan-Scène nationale du Havre
avec le soutien : des Nouvelles Subsistances (Lyon) et de la Région Rhône-Alpes
avec la complicité : des Centres culturels français de Damas, Moscou et Djakarta
avec l'aide : de l'AFAA et de la Ville de Lyon