Toute La Culture - TLC5 December 2014
Tempus fugit ? modern, spell-binding circus, a short eternity
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Cirque Plume presents their show for one more month at the Espace Chapitaux of the Villette: “Tempus fugit? Une ballade sur le chemin perdu”. Here we see a number of great circus artists bursting forth with supreme energy, through a series of routines combining grace with modernity. An unmissable journey.
A celebratory show... The very idea raises fears of unimaginatively recycled ideas. But only regular spectators of Cirque Plume shows could really be judge of that. Such as those who saw their beginnings at the 1986 Avignon Off festival or their hit shows: Spectacle de Cirque et de Merveilles (Circus of Spectacle and Wonder)(1988), Toiles (Canvases) (1993), or Plic Ploc (2004). For the rest this first encounter will be a true enchantment. Here we are faced with acrobatic routines that are state of the art, but surrounded with a highly imaginative visual and musical décor. We see clown routines with no red-noses in sight, just precise movements and a sense of modernity. We are confronted with a show which adds both an original exceptional live sound-track and a kind of scenario to the circus routines. Combining the passage of time with a reflection of the current state of show business...
This is truly a modern circus. But it’s not about making mountains out of molehills. It’s a kind of endless celebration. Founded above all on the exceptional talent of the show’s performers: Diane-Renée Rodriguez, who opens with a bewitching dance on her trapeze, which turns her upside down and sees her spinning every which way; Sandrine Juglair, who dances across wind-filled white sheets, then shows off her prowess on the Chinese pole; Marie-Eve Dicaire, the exceptional balancing act, accompanied by eight plastic tube xylophones; Alain Mallet, the crazy violinist… And Mick Holsbeke, the clown star with his demented laughter, virtuoso hat-play, as he falls off the tightrope, rolls in a sphere or converses with a walking oil drum, not forgetting his class, taste and contact with the audience. These routines are all euphoric and all contribute to the show’s central dynamic power. Yet amidst all of this technical mastery, an easy-going attitude reigns supreme
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These combined talents make every routine into an unforgettable moment which makes this circus both modern and respectful of its origins. The routines are designed to show the abilities of the performers, to surprise the audience and to tell stories, resulting in a succession of small vignettes of frozen and off-beat time. In the face of the passage of time, our artists offer up the eternity of circus poetry. Let’s take it.
Geoffrey NABAVIAN