Drama, artistry, acrobats: Montreal circus performers go beyond the big top
Montréal Complètement Cirque festival runs until July 14
Montreal is the capital of circus in North America, and the team behind Montréal Complètement Cirque is promoting the art internationally through the festival.
This year marks not only its 10th edition, but it's also the fifth edition of the international market of contemporary circus — an important networking event for the industry.
"It's a big rendez-vous of the circus world, we like to say," said festival director Nadine Marchand.
The team is hoping circus will land in North America's mainstream theatres soon.
That would follow Europe's lead, where theatres are already programming circus into their regular seasons, Marchand said.
"I think the word 'circus' comes with a lot of old connotations that aren't really relevant anymore," said new director of programming Ruth Wilker.
Creative crossovers
Wilker said contemporary circus uses conventional circus skills — like acrobatics — but that those skills are used in a larger storytelling context.
"Contemporary circus is really about expression, and what you are saying with these skills," she said.
An example of that kind of departure can be seen at the opening show of the festival, Bosch Dreams, which serves as an homage to surrealist painter Hieronymus Bosch and his work the Garden of Earthly Delights.
"This beautiful, sumptuous, gorgeous, basically living tableau integrates circus skills into what is already a very circus-y, surreal set of images that are 500 years old," Wilker said.
The show was created by a local company called The 7 Fingers along with Copenhagen's Theatre Republique.
Circus in a Montreal theatre
Wilker said part of her job includes getting performing arts centres interested in taking on physical theatre shows as part of their season.
The idea has piqued the interest of Montreal's Centaur Theatre, which will bring the show Un Poyo Rojo, from Argentina, to its mainstage in September, as a co-production with contemporary circus company La Tohu.
Centaur's artistic director Eda Holmes said when she took the top job two years ago that she would work to encourage such creative crossovers.
Montréal Complètement Cirque has free shows in local parks around Montreal, as well as indoor shows at La Tohu and other venues near its main outdoor site on St-Denis Street between Sherbrooke and Ste-Catherine streets and Place Émilie-Gamelin.
The festival runs from July 4 to 14.