Can we magnify daily life to turn it into a work for the theatre? The answer is yes if we believe the acrobats of Tangiers, directed by the Zimmermann & de Perrot team: everything that is shown us is realistic, but everything is also poetry. A poetry expressed by song, dance, music, balancing numbers, physical compositions that the acrobats-actors practice with a stunning commitment, in the midst of a set that moves in a choreography composed of fluidity and elegance. An entire city, Tangiers, is suddenly put into motion, with its alleys, squares, terraces, an authentic labyrinth inhabited by a population that goes from the most frenzied bustle to the immobility of those who know how to wait and take the time to savour the gentleness of a night under the Moroccan sky. Whether they run into each other, come near each other or call out to each other, all these silhouettes are eminently recognisable because they are meticulously drawn: the show-off with his sunglasses, the believer who plays with his prayer beads, the veiled woman, the guy acting tough, the timid who doesn't dare, the civil servant a prey to a paper storm. Individuals shown in fleeting slices of life, moments stolen and enriched by the uncompromising but tender view that Martin Zimmermann and Dimitri de Perrot cast on them, on their city, their existences, their joys and their wounds. A highly choreographed collective stroll or a sober highlighting of a solo number, everything here converges to create a universe of profound humanity, never naïve or complacent, always full of humour and truth. Far from folkloric images and moralising speeches, Chouf Ouchouf is an in-depth journey alongside men and women who have agreed to talk about themselves, to unveil themselves so that we can look at them, look at them again, and ask ourselves about the possible encounter with the other, with the stranger, in a theatre where the acrobatic tradition blends with the most contemporary creation. A theatre of today, enriched by forms that have come from elsewhere. JFP
Distribution
conception, direction and set designing
Zimmermann & de Perrot
music Dimitri de Perrot
choregraphy Martin Zimmermann
dramaturg Sabine Geistlich
light Ursula Degen
sound designer Andy Neresheimer
costumes designer Franziska Born, Daniela Zimmermann
acrobatic coach Julien Cassier
direction of the Groupe acrobatique de Tanger
Sanae El Kamouni
performed by le Groupe acrobatique de Tanger
Jamila Abdellaoui, Adel Chaâban, Mohammed Achraf Chaâban, Abdelaziz El Haddad, Najib El Maïmouni Idrissi, Amal Hammich, Mohammed Hammich, Younes Hammich, Samir Lâaroussi, Mustapha Aït Ourakmane, Yassine Srasi, Younes Yemlahi
Production
production Zimmermann & de Perrot
coproduction Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, Pour-cent culturel Migros, Le Volcan Scène nationale du Havre, équinoxe Scène nationale de Châteauroux, Espace Jean Legendre Théâtre de Compiègne, MC2 Grenoble, Association Scènes du Maroc
avec le soutien de la Ville de Zurich Affaires culturelles, du Service des Affaires culturelles du Canton de Zurich, de Pro Helvetia-Fondation suisse pour la Culture, de la Fondation BNP Paribas, du Service de Coopération et d'Action culturelle de l'Ambassade de France au Maroc, de l'Institut français de Tanger-Tétouan, de la fondation BMCI
avec l'aide de la Compagnie 111 et du réseau Kadmos