From October 16 to November 17, Les 7 Fingers will take the Tohu stage to present Duel Reality. In play as in love. For this show initially designed for cruises, Shana Carroll, artistic director and co-founder of the circus collective, went deeper for an audience on dry land.
Inspired by the atmosphere of sporting events, with a face-to-face audience, Duel Reality. In play as in love revisit Romeo and Juliet in a “visceral” competition. “When we were approached to do an original creation for cruises, the idea was already to offer a two-frontal show,” recalls Mme Carroll. “We had already done this kind of project in 2007 during the Paris-Bercy tennis tournament, so it inspired us. »
In addition, his team had long wanted to create a circus adaptation of a Shakespeare play. “When we had the idea of pitting two teams against each other, the reds and the blues, we thought about it again. We said to ourselves: “Maybe this is our Romeo and Juliet !” We always have lots of ideas, but we have to wait for the right moment, the moment when it really resonates, and there it was,” she continues.
In the eyes of the artistic director, the power of the famous piece completely echoes the physicality that the circus can demand. “The stakes are so high, we talk about eternal love, life, death. It’s extreme, everything is intense! The circus lends itself to this kind of narrative, there are both the physical issues with the risks that the disciplines imply and also the intimacy of the bodies that can emerge. »
“I take this risk of jumping as I take the risk of loving you,” she illustrates. It’s a visceral spectacle, raw in emotions and very rhythmic. »
To achieve this, the artistic director and her team were inspired by major sporting events, which “get the adrenaline pumping”. “We wanted to engage the audience, for them to be part of the show and to have to decide on a side. When it becomes more tragic, we then realize that we are complicit in the situation. We also wanted to talk about responsibility here. »
Because what interests The 7 Fingers is also the subtext of Shakespeare’s work and its reflection in our contemporary world. “We have been living in a very polarized world for a while. We can no longer even move forward in civilization because everything is so opposed: it creates paralysis. More than ever. It is difficult to find a common territory now,” thinks M.me Carroll. ” And Romeo and Julietit’s the same thing… How can two people who love each other cause so much tragedy, so much unhappiness? At the end of the day, we don’t even know why we hate each other anymore. »
Go deep
It will be in 2023 in Edinburgh that the first on earth of Duel Reality. In play as in love took place. ” It’s a show that we really like, so we wanted to put it in theaters, give it a real tour,” explains Shana Carroll.
To move from the ocean to the stage, the artistic director had to adapt the piece somewhat. Some numbers have thus been lengthened. “We took more time to add details to the choreography,” she says. In addition, Shakespeare’s texts have been added to all the songs. On the boat, only two of them are composed of the original lyrics. “We took more time to do acting work with our artists: analyzing the works, the difficult words, juxtaposing the circus, the physical and the sustained language. We put more effort into that,” explains the company’s co-founder.
With Duel Reality. In play as in loveThe 7 fingers go elsewhere, according to Mme Carroll. “People who know us well are used to us going for personal things, poetry, sometimes slowness, abstraction. There, the DNA is really different. We wanted a sporty side, a primal, almost animal energy,” she reports. Such public engagement is also not a habit for the company. “We evoke charged subjects, a deep story, but we also wanted it to be fun, to offer a light show to the audience,” explains the artistic director.
20 years ago, it was The 7 Fingers who inaugurated Tohu. “I remember it very well. I was still on stage at that time and it was my birthday. I’m so happy that we’re here to symbolically celebrate that, 20 years later,” says Mme Carroll. The company is “really proud” to be able to present this show and mark this anniversary, she said.
Since the pandemic, this is only the second time that The 7 Fingers have taken the Tohu stage, after Passengers last year. “Usually, we play our shows in Montreal first, and then we go on tour. But there, it didn’t happen like that: it’s a feeling weird,” says Shana Carroll. “But now it’s happening and we’re really delighted. It truly is our second home. »