French duo brings unique theatre form to Chennai

French-born theatre director Philippe Pelen Baldini and performer ThierryMoucazambo, born in Reunion, an overseas department of France, have been working together on various theatre productions since 1986. The duo, that co-founded the International Talipot Theatre and then the Water Carriers Company, has been staging their productions across Indian cities for the past few years. After their last production Bhu (earth), which infused the ancient martial art of kalaripayattu into their theatre, they are all set to stage their latest work, Vast.

Speaking to us ahead of the production’s staging in the city, Thierry says, “The performance of Vast revolves around the story of a young man from Nepal, who is kidnapped and abused and is left alone in a slum in a big city in India. He tries to find in his body a door that opens to the vast — a path to the Himalayas, where he comes from, as he is still connected to the mountains. The performance depicts how the man, through his body tries to reconnect with nature.”

While Gopal Dalami, a Delhi-born artiste of Nepalese origin will be playing the role of the young man, Thierry will also be on stage enacting the role of lord Hanuman, a special character who helps the young man on his journey. “The performance will be a highly energetic one, filled with the energy of theatre, dance and movement. We use theatre, vocal work, aerial and contemporary dance to explore the territory between confinement and vastness,” he adds. Besides making music and sound as a critical part of the staging, the theatre form also explores the relationship between the body and mother tongue, ancient mantric poetry and other words. Through aerial movements which can depict gravity and weightlessness, the hour-long show will explore body being free.

Exploring multiple art forms at once on stage can be challenging, Thierry admits. “I’ve been practising theatre and dance for nearly 35 years now. Since many of us at Reunion come with a background of mixed cultures, we work on expression through a mix of art forms,” shares Thierry, who also has Indian, Chinese and African origins. After touring in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, Kolkata and Bengaluru, the show will be staged in Chennai. It will continue to be staged in other countries in 2020. Vast will be staged at Alliance Francaise of Madras on November 16 at 6 pm.