Circus | The successful bet of a Kamouraska company

Starting a circus in the region, in an outdoor site moreover, this is the perilous idea that Elyme Gilbert realized in 2019. Slowed down by the pandemic, the Cirque de la Pointe-Sèche was finally able to present its second creation, Charcoalthis summer. The Press attended this high-flying show that was both playful and poetic.

Iris Gagnon Paradise
The Press

(Saint-Germain-de-Kamouraska) Landlocked in Saint-Germain-de-Kamouraska at the foot of a 60-foot rock wall, the outdoor site of the Cirque de la Pointe-Sèche has something magical about it, especially when it is lights up at night. It is then possible to admire, in maritime containers converted into an amphitheater to welcome the public, all the magnificence of this unusual theater, and its impressive vertical stage, integrated into the surrounding nature and equipped with anchors, pulleys , ropes and trampolines fixed to the rock.

Elyme Gilbert was notably a rigger at Cirque du Soleil and dreamed of opening his own outdoor circus in the region after settling there, on a huge piece of land he acquired more than ten years ago in this village of Kamouraska which was formerly called Pointe-Sèche. What he did in 2019 with the show Naval, and the plan to present a new creation each summer thereafter. But the pandemic forced the circus to cancel its season in 2020 and then again in 2021.

Discouraging? Certainly, especially since a show was ready to be presented. “We had our whole team, our posters, we had really polished this show. But since several people were no longer available after two years, we decided to give up instead of trying hard. We left with a new director and new artists,” says the man who acts as technical production manager.

During this time, the man did not twiddle his thumbs, on the contrary. He took the opportunity to set in motion Les Perchoirs du Cirque, an original accommodation project in nature. Clinging high in the surrounding mountain, five small houses with unusual architecture have been welcoming visitors since the summer of 2021 (to find out more, read our article this Saturday, August 27 in the Travel section).

He also started another promising project: transforming the village church to create the first circus school in the region. A crowdfunding campaign raised $55,000, which will be used to purchase and install various equipment. Starting in October, introductory circus lessons for children and adults will be offered on site. “Eventually, we would like to offer workshops, creative residencies, day camps,” lists Mr. Gilbert.

In the heart of the mine

Directed by Alix Dufresne, with original music by Maxime Éthier, Charcoal plunges us into the dark universe of the mine. We follow a small group of workers in the shadows, their faces smeared with soot, relentlessly extracting shiny ores from the bowels of the earth. Away from the others, a young man dreams of sunshine, of freedom, of flying towards the exit. Will he find his way?

Evoking here the character of Icarus, there the metaphor of the canary in the coal mine, Charcoal is a poetic tale, an invitation to get rid of your blinders to dare to explore new territories and go towards the unknown.

Young and old alike find their pleasure there, as we go from laughter to surprise, from dreamlike to playful, from terrifying to exhilarating.

The twelve artists – including two musicians – reproduce scenes from daily life in the mines, which become pretexts for performing various acts: juggling, flying rope, Chinese pole, vertical dance on the rock walls, aerial acrobatics with straps or chains , trampo-wall, high line (slacklining in height), high-dive (high jump on an inflatable mattress)… Far from the superproductions with big means, the show knows how to create emotion by using more artisanal techniques and by going off the beaten track.

Charcoal is presented until September 4 on the site of the Cirque de la Pointe-Sèche, in Saint-Germain-de-Kamouraska.