An exhilarating cross between circus, dance and electronic music, the show Until we die imagined by Brigitte Poupart is back at the Arsenal to play out the last hours of humanity.
At the beginning was death. In a large room ravaged by who knows what cataclysm, inert bodies are placed in the middle of end-of-the-world settings. Torn curtains fluttering in the wind, wrecked car wreck, telephone booth on which a lifeless man is perched.
Apocalyptic painting
It is this apocalyptic painting that welcomes spectators as they enter the large hall of the Arsenal where scenes of various shapes and appearances are scattered here and there. To music with a heady rhythm by Alex McMahon, the corpses will slowly become active. And time will go back its course.
For 80 minutes, spectators will see scenes parade all around them where life will resume its course with excitement.
The performers – a dozen dancer-acrobats of great talent and undeniable sensuality – will embrace or tear each other apart, their bodies exulting in joy or creative madness. The choreographies, developed by Dave St-Pierre and Marie-Ève Quilicot, fit perfectly with the initially anxiety-inducing and then festive atmosphere of the show.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
It is a setting littered with corpses which awaits the spectators in Until we die.
Guided by a show of lights which gives great prominence to lasers, the public will move from one scene to another as they wish. Sometimes he will be approached by a character who interferes in the crowd. Sometimes the action will take place right at his feet; sometimes, it’s at the other end of the room that everything will happen. Whatever. Music is everywhere and it will end up carrying away dancers and people alike. The DJ, from the top of his catwalk, seems to reign supreme over the show…
In this jubilant stage journey led by director Brigitte Poupart, it is the notes that count. The words spoken are not very important. Moreover, only one interpreter is equipped with a microphone into which he chants in English a disjointed text which above all testifies to his inner torment.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The cast includes a dozen performers of varying ages and backgrounds.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Several of the circus acts are deployed in height.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Each scene scattered throughout the large hall of the Arsenal is bathed in its own atmosphere.
1/3
Personal interpretation
Standing in the middle of a dense crowd moving in unison (we are far from the reassuring red armchairs of the theaters), the audience is quickly captivated by the abundant energy of the show. The dancers are so close that they end up touching us, the acrobats perform directly above our heads.
Theatrical conventions have been shaken up to create this completely immersive experience. There is no fourth wall separating performers and audience. And Until we die is not burdened with any clear dramatic line, except this reverse chronology which is at the heart of the subject.
To tell the truth, each spectator leaves the Arsenal with their own interpretation of what they saw, their heads full of the numbers that touched them. The author of these lines was strongly affected by everything that happened in a vertically arranged kitchen, where bodies tried to fight against gravity. An ingenious scenography which gave rise to very strong scenes…
It’s difficult not to succumb to these lives which pulse even more strongly knowing that death is coming… When the darkness spreads, perhaps it is better to dance until the last light disappears? This is what this hypnotizing show seems to tell us and in the most beautiful way: as long as we wait for the end, we might as well do it with a creativity that ignores all limits.
Visit the show page
Until we die
Show by Brigitte Poupart, music by Alex McMahon. With 13 performers
ArsenalUntil March 24