Large-scale project created during the pandemic, After the night combines dance, acrobatics and live music. With 16 artists on stage, this creation makes 100% use of the Tohu space as well as the innovative and, it must be said, fairly rare devices in the hall. A multidisciplinary proposal shaped by actor, musician, singer and director Benoit Landry, to whom we owe several Cirque Éloize shows. Interview.
In 2019, Stéphane Lavoie, general manager of La Tohu, contacted Benoit Landry to invite him to create a tailor-made show for his performance hall. “La Tohu hosts many shows that tour around the world and the hall is often not used to its full capacity,” explains Benoit Landry. There aren’t many venues like Tohu in the world, so when you want to export internationally, you use simple devices that are easily transposable. »
This is how the adventure ofAfter the night. From the start, Mr. Landry wanted to have music on stage, that of the group CHANCES, a true “source of inspiration”. “I’ve been listening to his albums for a very long time. They are experienced musicians who have worked with all kinds of people, who have incredible talent. Their songs really have a strong impact, and I always said to myself that we should do a show on it, ”he says.
After choosing the musical score, Benoit Landry looked at the dance and circus artists he wanted to see integrated into the project. So in the midst of a pandemic, he was spoiled for choice and brought together “the best in their discipline”. “The shows and tours being stopped, everyone was in Montreal. La Tohu had no more programming either, so it was the perfect time for our big project. We were lucky to be able to have artists of international caliber, who worked with major companies. If there was a star system circus and dance, that would be them! explains with joy the one who staged the show Serge Fiori. alone togetherfrom Cirque Éloize.
Exploit the place
The initial idea of Messrs. Lavoie and Landry was therefore to make the most of La Tohu, a theater that is full of possibilities, as the director explains: “The 360-degree circular configuration is brilliant for the music, but also for the spectators. It creates intimacy, we are closer than in the frontal configuration. »
After the Night speaks directly to our five senses, to our emotions. It’s a narrativity, but of another, more abstract kind.
Inaugurated in 1997 by Cirque du Soleil, La Tohu wanted to make Montreal a circus hub on the international scene. To achieve this vision, the team has put in place innovative and quite original technical devices. “At Tohu, you can fly humans anywhere in space, anywhere on the ceiling. Normally, in theaters, you have to arrive and set up your own equipment. So there, it gives immense possibilities, ”adds Benoit Landry.
Additionally, the 65-foot high ceiling, about twice that of other theaters, allows for the use of different levels in the air. Finally, it is also possible to have an artist enter through the roof, again, in several separate places. “It’s every director’s fantasy!” Elsewhere you can do it, but usually it’s only one specific place in the ceiling where you can let someone in. There, it allows you to let your creativity express itself more. »
Multidisciplinarity as second nature
Trained as both an actor and a musician, Benoit Landry naturally designs the shows he stages in a multidisciplinary way. Theater, music and body always come together to become one. For After the night, we therefore find on stage 3 dancers, 10 acrobats and the 3 musicians of the group CHANCES. “Here, the music is at the heart of the project, it’s the first spark of the piece. Dance and acrobatics then serve as visual material, as a point of convergence. »
To create this new show, after listening to CHANCES songs “compulsively for months”, Mr. Landry focused his attention on aerial acrobatics, which “take up a lot of space in the show”. “It’s a rather unusual and very technical game. We really took our time to tame it, support the artists in it and get used to all these systems, ”he describes. Gradually, the floor dancers were integrated into the creation. “Aerial takes on its full meaning when there are also people on the floor. It makes us measure the distance, ”he adds. At the same time, the director fed the musicians with the creation so that they could compose new pieces, but also musical material for the transitions. Indeed, the team didn’t just want “to have a series of songs already known”.
Our suggestions for Montréal completely circus
For gestures, Benoit Landry draws a lot of inspiration from his performers, not being an acrobat or a dancer himself. A choreographer and several acrobatic designers took part in the creation. “They say that to create an original acrobatic trick, it takes 100 hours,” he explains. So we start a lot from the baggage that the artists already have, their way of moving, their approach to the discipline. It will always be better than starting from scratch. My job is to guide the performers in the space, their intentions and their musicality. »
Poetry and ceremony
Regarding the narration, the story that can be detected behind the work After the night is inspired by the subject matter of CHANCES songs. “The group has an impressionist writing, I would say, abstract poetry, but sometimes, these are very concrete, very social and political subjects, like inclusion or equality between men and women, describes the director. The words are also deeply humanistic and philosophical. »
However, Benoit Landry wanted to go further than just the lyrics of the songs. ” After the night speaks directly to our five senses, to our emotions. It’s a narrativity, but of another, more abstract kind. Indeed, he admits himself to being “not too fond of the circus which tells a story”. This is why he wanted to create “an atmosphere” rather than a narrative, by plunging into “more personal and existential” feelings. A statement that fits well with the 360 degree configuration of La Tohu. “There is a real dimension of reunion, and not just post-pandemic. Opportunities to see each other are always precious, and ultimately rare. With the circular room, in front of you, you see people. It’s a poetic gesture, I find, there is a ceremonial aspect. »
Benoit Landry also wanted to touch the intimacy of the spectators, in particular through the title of the work. “We choose more the people with whom we spend the night, sometimes it is with ourselves. We go in ourselves, it’s a moment of introspection, of dream too. We give ourselves liberties. After the night, everyone comes out of this trip, some have had a wonderful night, others had nightmares. But we all meet in the light. »