Magnificent Meeting: Philippe Genty’s LANDS’ END

Ask any local fan of dance and theatre the last time he or she enjoyed an evening of sheer marvel at Thailand Cultural Centre, and the answer will almost certainly be Compagnie Montalvo-Hervieu “Rameau’s Bossa Fataka”, which closed out La Fête 2008.

The good news is that the 2009 edition of the French-Thai cultural festival is set to pick up where it left off, with another equally inspiring performance “La Fin des Terres”, or “Lands' End”.

Although the legendary director Philippe Genty, now 71 years old, has been partly influenced by Japanese large-sized puppets known as bunraku, he also blends in dance, theatre, and images. These include some sexual references that have tagged the performance as “not suitable for children” in some countries. The photos may suggest puppet theatre, but “Lands' End” is not. If you really want a label, Genty prefers “visual theatre”.

In an interview with Time Out Sydney, Genty explained his creation process, “In ‘Lands' End’ I started from a single image that came to me in a dream. There was a woman on a cliff and on the other side there was a man; the man was sending a letter in the wind to the woman. The letter remains in the show as a point of unity.”

“When I am working with the crew, Mary [Genty's wife and longtime collaborator] and I won't give them the whole structure. We might give them the theme of one scene and then invite them to experiment with the material. When I am writing I create raw material that often doesn't work as I want it to, so you have to be flexible and see where it leads you. It's like if you were sailing from Sydney to South America, the wind will sometimes force to you change direction. Eventually though, you will reach your destination, and if you listen to this wind, then you may discover other exciting lands on the way.”

Even with seven tonnes of equipments for the widest set in the company’s history, including sliding panels that create various perspectives for the audience, “Lands' End” is not spectacle without essence.

“What interest me are not the ideas of human beings in conflict with one another that dominate most drama. What excite me are the vast territories within each person—individuals facing their own internal conflicts and trying to make peace with their monsters.”

In fact, Genty leaves the performance wide open to interpretation. The French master told Citysearch Canberra, “It's not like we are telling them a story; it's a sort of interrelation between what is happening on stage and in the heads of the audience. Very often a spectator is confronted with an enigma and has to find their own answers.”

La Fête 2009’s opener marks the Bangkok debut of the 41-year-old Compagnie Philippe Genty, which has performed in five continents yet never here, and we don’t know when we’ll be taken on such a mesmerising dream, again. Our short advice: book your tickets now.

“Lands' End” is at Thailand Cultural Centre’s Main Hall, 8pm Wednesday, June 3 and Thursday, June 4. Good seats are still available for Thursday. Tickets are from Bt 500 to Bt 2,000 (Bt 100 for students, no kidding), available from Thaiticketmajor website and outlets. On the web: www.philippegenty.com, and www.lafete-bangkok.com

written by Pawit Mahasarinand

published in DAILY XPRESS on Monday, June 1, 2009

photos courtesy of La Fête

โดย dance_and_theatre

วันที่ อังคาร มิถุนายน 2552

พิมพ์หน้านี้