A new festival focusing on new circus has arrived on the Prague theatre scene. Showcasing French, Belgian as well as Catalan new circus, Cirkopolis Fest will run from 6th to 16th April at Palác Akropolis. “We believe now’s the right time to bring top small to medium sized European groups to Prague. We want to show people the diversity this genre has to offer as well as its latest forms and tendencies,” Petr Boháč from Palác Akropolis reveals who is co-organising the event in conjunction with the Cirqueon centre for new circus. “The event will present Prague spectators with projects which display classic new circus disciplines along with elements of contemporary dance, physical theatre and the latest musical stimuli,” adds Šárka Maršíková from the Centre for new circus Cirqueon. The main attractions will include Fet a Mà, a performing couple combining physical theatre, dance and mesmerising acrobatics on an empty stage, the Subliminati Corporation group merging beatbox, juggling, acrobatics and dance as well as one of the most innovative jugglers on the European scene, Alexis Rouvre who works wonders with a piece of rope.
The festival will culminate with a one-off performance featuring a number of European performers and acrobats, orchestrated by French director Florent Bergal. Rehearsals will be held for one week leading up to a one-night grand finale. Kino Aero will add a new dimension to the programme by playing host to a new circus evening, CirkoAero featuring a performance of Antiwords by the Spitfire Company, a selection box of circus pieces from Cirqueon, a film screening of Federico Fellini’s The Road as well as a night of new circus trailers. To view the exact programme and learn more about the festival, please go to www.cirkopolis.cz or check out the websites of the co-organisers. Tickets are on sale in the Palác Akropolis café and the Ticketpro network.
The festival will kick off on 6th April at Palác Akropolis with a performance of the French–Catalan double act Fet a Mà’s Cru. The production blends physical theatre, dance and captivating acrobatics – all playing out on an empty stage without any props, scenes or artificial effects. “Just two bodies, the relationship between a man and a woman, the journey inside a human being….the pair use circus as a way of sharing strong emotions, perhaps how Samuel Beckett would have imagined the circus,” Petr Boháč reveals. The performers Marta Torrents and Pau Portabella met at the French school of circus arts, Le Lido. Blai Mateu Trias contributed to the show as director and the group’s creative director is Baro d' Evel. The last time Fet a Mà took to the stage was as part of the prestigious London Mime festival. On 7th and 8th April at Palác Akropolis, visitors can look forward to discovering how great beatbox, juggling, acrobatics and dance complement one another with French group Subliminati Corporation’s #File_Tone show. “Subliminati are outstanding in how they approach new circus, they are provocative and capable of striking a chord with people when it comes to social and political issues. Their physical skills are also of the highest calibre although the spectator is mainly drawn to the story, rather than admiring their technical skill,” says Šárka Maršíková. They are also graduates of the French Le Lido school and already have one prestigious Jeunes Talent Cirque Europe award under their belt.
The festival will relocate to kino Aero on 10th April for a special evening called CirkoAero. From 6pm to midnight, visitors will be able to check out the Antiwords production by the Spitfire Company, a selection box of circus from Cirqueon, a screening of Federico Fellini’s The Road and a night of new circus trailers. The Antiwords show featuring Miřenka Čechová and Tereza Havlíčková is influenced by the work of Václav Havel, above all his play Audience. However, as was observed by the critic Marie Reslová, the production also bears traces of the clown figures present in the works of Samuel Beckett. This motif links in nicely with Fet a Mà’s Cru as well as Fellini’s The Road, Petr Boháč adds. The production was awarded the “Sukces léta (Success of the Year)” award by the Divadelní noviny (Theatre News) as well as Project of the Year by the Příští vlna/Next Wave festival…
If you’re interested in learning about all the incredible things you can do with an ordinary rope and ball, then definitely head over to Palác Akropolis on 14th and 15th April to check out one of the most innovative jugglers in Europe right now, Alexis Rouvre. “His solo show Cordes transports spectators to an absurd universe where nothing is impossible,” says Šárka Maršíková teasingly. Alexis Rouvre has been into juggling since the age of seven, gaining his formal education from the professional circus school L´ESAC. During the course of his studies, he abandoned classic juggling techniques, preferring to focus his attentions on rope manipulation instead.
The festival will come to a close on 16th April returning once again to Palác Akropolis for an evening performance of Cirkopolis vol 2 – the culmination of a week-long’s training involving acrobats, actors and other performers from a number of different European countries. Spectators will have to wait till the very end of to see the fruits of the work of director Florent Bergal in this one-off feature performance. “With his distinctive and fresh approach, Florent Bergal is a big player in terms of the development of new circus in Europe right now,” adds Šárka Maršíková.
Tickets are available to purchase as presales at the café of Palác Akropolis and on the Ticketpro network. More information: www.cirkopolis.cz, www.akropolis.cz, or www.cirqueon.cz CIRKOPOLIS FEST – programme: 6th April, 20.00, Palác Akropolis Fet a Mà: CRU 7th and 8th April, 20.00, Palác Akropolis Subliminati Corporation: #FILE_TONE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NeW42YLoIs 10th April, 18.00–24.00, Kino Aero CirkoAero 14th April, 20.00 and 15th April, 11.00, Palác Akropolis Alexis Rouvre: CORDES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nZ4N_3USCs 16th April, 20.00, Palác Akropolis Cirkopolis vol 2.
Josef Bartos
Thank you for your thoughts. One got stuck in my mind – that passion makes us different from AI. Just yesterday I read…I am a dance critic. I am a member of an endangered species