L’étendue – Renaud Herbin (FR)

A lone performer stands in the centre of the stage. He is illuminated by the light, around him there is darkness. He moves on a limited surface and cannot step out over the edges. A huge plate hovers above him, lowering and turning, it determines his movements: He staggers and sways, looking like a fragile figure guided by invisible forces, trying to hold on to something, to move forward. Sometimes the board is a door, then a roof, then a floor. The performer tumbles, rises again, finds a firm stand, reinvents himself. The virtuoso struggle for balance is accompanied by the voice of the singer Sir Alice and the oud player Grégory Dargent.

In the solo “Par les bords” (By The Hems) Renaud Herbin asks existential questions about security. After a profound uprooting, he sends his performer on a quest to eventually arrive somewhere. Along the way, he traverses a new territory, gets caught up in a whirlpool of emotions and is forced to develop unique skills to regain his stability.

“Par les bords” was created in close collaboration with Jean-Baptiste André, an established French circus artist and dancer who himself has already been a guest at the international figuren.theater.festival in Erlangen with the production “Intérieur Nuit”.

This year, after the end of his directorship at the TJP Strasbourg, Renaud Herbin will be a guest at the international figuren.theater.festival for the first time with his newly founded company L’étendue. His performance for children “À qui mieux mieux” is also featured in the programme.