Nov 03 - 04 2018
ESPÆCE | A piece by Aurélien Bory

ESPÆCE | A piece by Aurélien Bory

Presented by Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts at August Wilson Center

US Premiere - Part of the Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts


Country of Origin: France

Along with his Compagnie 111, Aurélien Bory has gained a reputation as a poet of space and a wizard of staging--an artist capable of blending elements of dance, music, magic, and circus in his visual theater.

Created from the essay Species of Space – Espèces d’espace by French writer Georges Perec, Espæce represents another innovative step on Bory’s artistic path. The presence of acrobats, dancers, actors, and singers correctly signals an unusual approach to the theatrical scene. Bory’s ‘space’ includes a colossal but infinitely flexible wall, paper pages of the famous text, and the manipulation of an arsenal of mathematical tools.

With acrobat Guilhem Benoit, dancer Mathieu Desseigne Ravel, contortionist Katell Le Brenn, opera singer Claire Lafilliatre, and actor Olivier Martin Salvan, Bory has composed a tribute to Perec’s unique humor and pathos. Orphaned at a tender age following the death of his father in war and his mother’s deportation to Auschwitz, Perec presents a jigsaw puzzle of faded memories, allusions, voids, and absences.

Compagnie 111 – Aurélien Bory is accredited by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication – The Occitanie / Pyrénées -Méditerranée Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs, The Occitanie / Pyrénées – Méditerranée Region and the City of Toulouse. It is supported by the Departmental Council of the Haute-Garonne.

Design, scenography and direction Aurélien Bory

With Guilhem Benoit, Mathieu Desseigne or Nicolas Lourdelle, Katell Le Brenn or Lise Pauton, Claire Lefilliâtre, Olivier Martin Salvan
Artistic collaboration Taïcyr Fadel
Lighting design Arno Veyrat
Musical composition Joan Cambon
Technical scenery design Pierre Dequivre
Costumes Sylvie Marcucci, Manuela Agnesini
General management Arno Veyrat
Stage management Thomas Dupeyron, Mickaël Godbille
Sound Stéphane Ley or Bernard Lévéjac
Lighting management Arno Veyrat, Carole China
Automatism Coline Féral
Managing director Florence Meurisse
Production manager Marie Reculon
Communication, public relations Sarah Poirot
Press Dorothée Duplan, Flore Guiraud, Eva Dias assisted by Louise Dubreuil (Plan Bey)

Song Winterreise (Winter Journey) by Franz Schubert
Quotes Georges Perec, Espèces d’espaces, © Éditions Galilée, 1974

PRODUCTION Compagnie 111 – Aurélien Bory

COPRODUCTION Festival d’Avignon, TNT – Théâtre national de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, Le Grand T théâtre de Loire-Atlantique – Nantes, Le théâtre de l’Archipel scène nationale de Perpignan, Théâtre de la Ville – Paris, Maison des Arts de Créteil, Le Parvis scène nationale de Tarbes Pyrénées

Rehearsals and residencies La nouvelle Digue – Toulouse, La FabricA-Avignon, TNT-Toulouse, CIRCa – Auch

Photos : Aglaé Bory, Christophe Raynaud de Lage.

Dates & Times

2018/11/03 - 2018/11/04

Location Info

August Wilson Center

980 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222