Is loving your enemies really realistic and possible? Does this course of action make Jesus a heroic figure? Inspired by this essential biblical character, Philippe Boutin wonders about the messages conveyed and the constant cultural influence of him in our cultures. In a series of wacky scenes, between the tragic and the comic, The Rise of The BlingBling. The genesis will be presented at Usine C from May 17th.
“This is a project that I have dreamed of for a very long time. Jesus has always been an inspiring and revolting character. I saw him as a superhero when I was young”, recalls Philippe Boutin. At the origin of his brand new creation, he was certainly inspired by Jesus, but also by the famous verse “But love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). “For me, this is the most disturbing, revolting aspect. The day when we attack your family, it’s difficult to do that, ”he continues.
In addition, Philippe Boutin also wanted to talk about courage. “Wanting to be a superhero is not so simple. It involves a lot of responsibility. All the characters of non-violence like Jesus, Martin Luther King or Gandhi have always moved me a lot, but I also understand why we could burn everything. We are patient, all the same”, he thinks.
For The Rise of the BlingBling. The genesis, he surrounded himself with Joséphine Rivard in dramaturgy. “Talking about Jesus bugged me at first. You are attacking an institution anchored since the dawn of time, it is impressive. We have a lot of expectations when we tackle such a big theme, already very structured and with strong codes. But we still had the latitude to appropriate it, in particular we distanced ourselves from it, ”she says.
Wanting to be a superhero is not that simple. It involves a lot of responsibility. All the characters of non-violence like Jesus, Martin Luther King or Gandhi have always moved me a lot, but I also understand why we could burn everything. We are patient, however.
Indeed, for Philippe Boutin, the idea was never to talk about religion, but about its influence, which is still conveyed today in our daily lives. “Jesus has enormous influence. We can talk about it through Harry Potter Where Star Wars “, he explains. And Mme Rivard to add: “We are in pop culture and aesthetics, with a lot of references. We really looked into the values of this kind of character, of superheroes. »
“Speak to the viewer’s instincts”
As in his other creations — we owe him Destroy we will (2013), a large-scale project where a football field served as a theater stage, as well as Grassy wine (2016), a bombastic opera-theatre with 70 artists — Philippe Boutin has surrounded himself with artists from various backgrounds, dancers, actors and a circus artist. “It’s not a choice, but rather my way of seeing things. I love movement and I love creating with a team, in an epic way. When you’re tripping over it, it’s hard to change,” explains the man who danced and collaborated for a long time with choreographer Dave St-Pierre.
The body is for him an important vehicle in his creations. “I remove the words as much as possible. I want to speak to the bodies, to the instincts of the viewer. The brain, I want to activate it afterwards, to understand what it has just experienced”, continues the designer. For meme Rivard, movement makes it possible to express more, to get closer to the emotions and values that the theatrical work wishes to convey. “Philippe is an author, there is text, but movement allows us to go further. It’s a language that allows us to read in our own way too,” adds the playwright.
Finally, the two artists agree to recognize a poetic character in the danced gestures. “How to make the act of violence poetic for example, to put it into images. Sometimes the image counts more than the text,” says Mr. Boutin. To do this, he decided to work with Elon Höglund, dancer, choreographer and co-founder of the company Tentacle tribe and trained in martial arts. “I wanted a choreographer to place fight scenes. There is something very cohesive about the language of combat and dance, so Elon is super relevant,” says Boutin.
Embrace the entertainment
“We follow the evolution of a character for the most part, in this first part which establishes facts, a narrative. The scenes follow one another, are funny, dramatic, there is music, movement, it’s also poetic. It throws the mouth full! “explains Joséphine Rivard. In effect, The Rise of the BlingBling, La Genesis wants to be a first part of a diptych.
With the 14 performers on stage, Philippe Boutin aims to create fun while making people react. “I wish it was fucking entertainment. Me, I don’t mind that word. It is in our practice. We want people to have a good time, not offer something hermetic, niche. The goal is that they are not indifferent, he summarizes. The play goes from laughter to tears or reflection or provocation, it doesn’t matter, as long as something happens! »