Chapter 127: Le Patin Libre - Vertical

From left: Jasmin Boivin, Alexandre Hamel, Taylor Dilley, Samory Ba, Pascale Jodoin

Exhilarating, funny, thrilling, mesmerising, Dance Umbrella  brought the quintet of Canadian skaters in Le Patin Libre to carve up the ice at Somerset House last week with the a fusion of graceful ballet and engaging street performance. Half an hour passed in a flash of light and shadow, choreographed to stunning urban soundscape of rich, atmospheric music, audible breath, and a shattering of crystal shards, bringing new definition to the idea of a "son et lumiere" spectacle.

Le Patin Libre had come onto my radar in the summer in the buzz of the Edinburgh Fringe, winning The Total Theatre and The Place award for contemporary dance, and I couldn't wait to take my husband, as he grew up in Switzerland doing winter sports, just like these guys. That was until disaster struck when we were Clowning on Ice (click here). So instead I went with one of my dearest friends, another hand-holding skate partner, and we met up there with my first ever ice guide Rosie, also a storyteller and performer (@RosieTellsTales) who was working on front of house. Somerset House floodlight in pink and purple was a sight to behold, a stunning frame for the frozen stage.

Samory Ba

The first thing to note when Le Patin Libre return, and trust me, they must, is that you really do have to wrap up warm. Hats, scarves, gloves and a good couple of glasses of mulled wine in the green room café beside the rink should do the trick. The next is that the show is half an hour, so on one level, be prepared for it to go at top speed (literally), but at the same time, such is the intense beauty and thrill of the spectacle that it also feels like time is suspended.

Le Patin Libre, free skate, has a certain vibe of urban skateboarders on ice, a group that celebrates its diversity, in all shapes and sizes, a complete antithesis to the sequinned and permatan uniformity that the concept of Dancing on Ice conjures up. I liked the outfits of the skaters, casually co-ordinated in stone, slate, and mustard, which highlighted the natural harmony between them. I thought it was important too that there was a female skater, not overtly sexualised but bringing a feminine power and strength, that brought balance to the make-up of the group.

As with all things, I find circus everywhere, so when they raced towards us at speed, stopping at the last moment and playing with our nerves, it reminded me of the opening scene that morning I had seen in a trailer to the French film Chocolat, where the self-styled "black clown" toys with the conventional expectations of the audience. And it's funny, because the London International Mime Festival is in full swing at the moment, and there were elements in certain solo turns that I could also see extended into full-blown mime stand-alone pieces. 

Pascale, me and Rosie

They are all championship skaters, "gliding enthusiasts and weirdos" as founder Alexandre Hammel describes them (click here), but it was interesting to note that one was wearing a pair of ice hockey skates, while the rest were wearing figure skates, which affects certain movements, I understand. They belonged to Jasmin, who came to free skating, incredibly, only about four years ago (makes me think of the prodigy in the "The Mighty Ducks" - name me a pro-skater who didn't see that film as a child! I watched it with the kids at Christmas...), while the others are figure skaters by training. This is why at one point Jasmin sits out on a piece of group choreography, and it was a brave decision to have him seated on the side of the rink, so much in the fore, in an end piece, because for a split second I wondered if he had been injured. So slickly done, he clearly wasn't, but I appreciated the explanation later from Rosie as to why. It was Jasmin, as well, who composed the stunning music score. I wish I had enough skating knowledge to explain how and why the "s" figures, twists, jumps and balances were so exquisite, but all I can say was that the vertiginous acrobatics held me in rapt attention from start to finish. And I laughed so much as well, I hadn't expected that.

Afterwards, the skaters first concern was for the audience and whether we were warm enough, and yet they were the ones shivering away but standing out afterwards meeting us and saying hello. So, back in Montreal now, thank you Pascale, Alex, Samory, Taylor and Jasmin, it was a joy so see you in action, finally - chapeau! A la prochaine...

Note: Chocolat stars Omar Sy and James Thiérrée and is officially released in February. It is based on the true story of iconic clown duo Footit & Chocolat, the latter an ex-slave from Havana, a history I kow well, given the years I spent studying Cuban theatre and el teatro bufo. Omar Sy is best known for "The Intouchables", and James Thiérrée is the son of Victoria Thiérrée, who makes an appearance in Fellini's "I Clowns", herself in turn the daughter of Charlie Chaplin. They do not trade at all on the Chaplin legacy, but there is little doubt they inherited the gene. And it's funny too, speaking of Chaplin and skating, because I had tweeted Le Patin Libre this extract from his film "The Rink" which made them laugh too:

There have been pre-release parties in celebration, footage of which I spent last night retweeting - check out Arts on Mouvement @CIAM_aix #ChocolatLeFilm on Twitter and Instagram. I am looking forward to seeing the film when it hits the UK,  and making plans already to see it with the group I'll be doing the clown acting workshop with in February (see bottom of post on Marcel click here). Who else?! If nothing else, check out the stunning trailer - no English subtitles, but am sure you'll get the gist:

Chapter 125: "Marcel" at the London International Mime Festival

Marcello Magni in Marcel
Photo: Pascal Victor/ArtComArt

Do you ever feel that life is one long Takeshi’s Castle of absurd pitfalls and pratfalls? And that all you can do is pick yourself up, laugh it off and Carry On Up The Khyber?! That’s how winter has felt for me, and with a milestone birthday fast approaching, age comes into play. Maybe that’s why I am embracing the idea of clowning so wholeheartedly at the moment. In fact, I just signed up yesterday for a five day workshop in February back at The Poor School*, an extension of the workshop with Ira Seidenstein’s in November (see Clowning Around).  If I’m going to make a fool of myself, at least may it provide some form of entertainment.

So when professional clown Sean Kempton, currently on the other side of the world on tour with Cirque de Soleil, recommended I see Jos Houben at the Mime Festival, it went straight to the top of my wish-list. Houben was in two shows, a one-off performance of his acclaimed The Art of Laughter, and Marcel, in partnership with Marcello Magni, which opened the London International Mime Festival.

Restricted by the logistics of looking after a husband with a broken leg, and three children, I slipped out after lunch and was back before tea for for the Sunday matinée of Marcel, though it was sorely tempting to stow away in the back of the auditorium afterwards, and stay on for the Art of Laughter that followed. The first surprise was to read in the programme that “Marcel”, which I had assumed to be a nod to Marceau, was in fact a reference to a vest worn by labourers, the everyman. The second was to see Houben and Magni moving going up and down the aisles, meeting random members of the public - there was a generosity in that gesture that characterised the whole performance, and warmed up the audience before the show had even begun.

In a Kafkaesque scenerio, Magni, a short, compact, ageing Italian performer, has some sort of work permit that needs stamping, and Houben, a tall, gangly Belgian, sets all sorts of physical tests for him to pass first.  Each actor is uniquely funny, and together the chemistry generates a physical poetry in motion, making me think of the tradition of old where troubadors would  throw each other a line of verse to catch and develop. And of course the duo are a contemporary articulation of a long line of supreme clowns and comedy pairings: Laurel & Hardy, Abbot & Costello, Morecombe & Wise, to name a few. 

The action revolves around a curved wooden scuplture - work of art, block, ramp, balance, slide, platform - that was a fulcrum for all manner of agile mishaps, stumbles and tumbles. And then there were classic gags, exquisitely timed, the cigarette that wouldn't light, the wayward umbrella, the rebellious springy stool - my cheeks were aching from start to finish at this "il bufo" brand of clowning. The flipside of the double-headed clowning coin was a beautiful nod to the poignant Pierrot, in a collar deftly made out of newspaper, ruffled by the breeze of time. At the end of the day, the joke is, none of us are getting out of this alive, and there are two ways of dealing with it this burlesque: you can either have a sense of humour failure about it, or laugh along with Marcel. Bravo! Chapeau! Bring it on! 

* Johannes Alinhac, aka "Butzi", is leading the five day workshop on Clown acting and creativity through body exercises at The Poor School, Kings Cross 22-26 February. Butzi is an actor and magician who has trained with Ira Seidenstein for many years, and uses his methodology, which is a powerful tool for any performer or storyteller. Contact Christopher Howell for more details. See event page (click here)

Chapter 124: A New Year of Circus

Photo: Underground tube
www.simonkay.co.uk (click here)

In the bleak midwinter... well, it's pretty grim (reaper), isn't it? Damp and dark, rain on rain, without even the guts for snow. I wonder if that's why the London International Mime Festival (LIMF) in January, hot on the heels of Twelfth Night, throws up such a veritable feast of innovative performances from the world of visual and physical theatre. There are 18 shows all told, as well as workshops and screenings of vintage classic circus films. For the full low-down, background and everything you need to know, read Donald Hutera's interview with co-directors Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig at www.run-riot.com (click here)

I have to confess, for me it makes slightly painful reading as I can only make a couple of events this year. "Tasty" and "tantalising" are the adjectives that head up Donald Hutera's article, and indeed I do feel the taste buds in my mouth welling up, and watering, on reading the description of each show in turn. Still, it's relative progress on last year when I couldn't make any at all.

On Sunday, 10 January, I will be seeing Marcel with and by Jos Houben and Marcello Magni (www.mimelondon.com - click here), which opens the festival at the Shaw Theatre. It ticks a number of boxes. As someone who has just signed up to another workshop in clowning and improvisation in February, it will be an eye opener looking at physical movement. And as someone with a significant birthday creeping up next month the description "despite the fact that the age of his body no longer allows the agility of his youth, he still has a trump-card up his sleeve: his child spirit" struck a chord. Make that a gong! I would love to see Jos Houben in The Art of Laughter as well, and am looking forward to hearing about it from friends.  Nola Rae's superb workshop The Clown Speaks Without Words (click here), would that I could, is on 9 and 10 January: click here.

Photo: Ockham's Razor - Tipping Point
www.canvas-london.org.uk

I will be going to Jacksons Lane a couple of weeks later to see Aneckxander (click here), "a raw self-portrait in which the body exposes itself to and tries to escape from the prying eyes of those looking at it." I've heard Alexander is a phenomenal performer, and as a blogger, this idea of the artist's ambivalence towards the necessary exposure of performance resonates particularly at the moment. 

Two of the companies in the listings I have seen in action before.  I caught an excerpt of Swedish Svalbard's All Genius All Idiot (click here) in a pitch at the circus market place Canvas at Jacksons Lane in April. They are mad, surreal, funny, moving and push the limits - the mind boggles at what could be in store in the full-length version. Meanwhile I saw Ockham's Razor in action for the first time at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer, and was blown away. I haven't seen Tipping Point (click here) but this is a stunningly innovative aerial theatre company and not to be missed. 

In other news, Proteus Theatre is touring my home county of Hampshire at the moment with a production of Little Red and the Wolves (click here). We had a superb time at their family show Rapunzel last year (click here), and while this year it is not a circus show per se, it stars, among others, Kaveh Rahnama, who I've seen in a couple of circus productions, and know it will appeal to anyone with a circus spirit. Ends 17th January.

The superb Canadian acrobatic skaters Le Patin Libre are at Somerset House this week, as mentioned in post Clowning on Ice (click here), with their unique blend of circus meets performance art on ice.

This clown here is also hoping at some point to fulfil a certain pledge to the Slapstick Festival in Bristol 20-25th January, see http://www.slapstick.org.uk, which screens silent comedy classics, has a gala and all sorts going on.

After seeing Zippos at Winter Wonderland, I am looking forward to catching the huge variety of stunts and contemporary circus skills on offer in their show Cirque Berserk now on tour and back in London at the Peacock Theatre, Sadlers Wells 8-24 February. www.cirqueberserk.co.uk (click here).

On my wishlist, La Soirée is in full swing (click here for last year's cryptic guide) and, as well as the familiar favourites, I would love to see the new acts, like resident clown Mooky Cornish - see the review in Time Out (click here) - ends 17th January.

And then there is Cirque de Soleil's Amaluna at the Royal Albert Hall which promises to "send your heart soaring to places it's never been before." www.cirquedusoleil.com/amaluna

For further news on other circus treats this January see Kate Kavanagh: www.thisiscabaret.com/circus-treats-whats-on-in-january

For the annual circus reunion taking place in Nottingham see: www.thisiscabaret.com/circus-reunion-2016
Circus Development Forum at the National Centre for Circus Arts on 14 January see: www.nationalcircus.org.uk/professional-artists/circus-development-forum

Happy New Year and here's to the bright times ahead!