We are in France, 1638. A young countess representing French nobility awaits a visit by a Chinese princess. She wants this meeting to represent her country and strengthen the ties of friendship and trust between the two countries that have been broken by their fathers’ past mistakes.

Four actor-acrobat-singers, two Chinese and two French, bring us into an original story with successive scenes that reflect the differences that bring us closer. A speaking mirror (a video screen) lunges us into the heart of the plot and reveals reflections of our true nature. Through interactive imagery and slam, The Mirror inverts the order of time, combining Italian and Chinese traditions and culture to create a new modern from. Does the Monkey King lay dormant within Arlequin?

Summer 1962. In the office of a Hollywood police officer. A corpse. A Frenchman being interrogated. The start…or the end of a misunderstanding.

Hitch revisits the famous encounter in the cinema when Hitchcock and Truffaut met.

1 Robot + 2 Men = 70 minutes of stunning feats of physical theatre

“Once again Aurélien Bory comes up with magic, wit and a ton of ideas. A contemporary take on Chaplin’s Modern Times.” Le Figaro, France

“Astonishing and harmonious meeting of technology and artistry.” La Dépêche, France

Who is the machine? Who is the man?

France’s enfant terrible of theatre, whose works defy convention, presents a visually sophisticated and beautifully physical production in which a huge industrial robotic arm takes centre stage and intertwines organically with two human actors.

From the moment the robot is unveiled until the shattering climax, man and machine alternately wrestle and toy with one another in a power struggle awash with humour, spectacular acrobatics and eventually a foreboding mechanical dominance. By the show’s end the robot still moves with ease, but the two human performers become more clipped, almost like toy robots themselves.

The imagery evokes classic science fiction – stimulating entertainment that also raises fascinating questions about humanity’s future.

2013 sees the 50th anniversary of Edith Piaf’s death. On this occasion, Princess Clotilde Courau pays tribute to the world renowned French artist by reading exclusive love letters written by Edith Piaf six month after the death of her truly love Macel Cerdan.

A few months after the tragic death of Marcel Cerdan in 1949, Edith Piaf was having a passionate affair with a mysterious man called Tony Franck. From May 1 to 26, 1950, they exchanged several letters in which the artist expressed her love with the lyricism, ardour and intransigence she was famous for. Who was this man? How did this relationship start? How did it end? With her sensual and enchanting voice, Clotilde Courau reads these intimate letters accompanied by French accordionist Lionel Suarez, and takes us on a journey into the intimate universe of ‘La vie en Rose’.

“Wit, invention, style,and virtuosity: “Cocorico” has real artistry and a poetic sensibility that understands why we need laughter.” – The Herald

A funny Frenchman? Yeah right. A funny French mime? Don’t make me laugh!

But you will laugh because “Cocorico” will have you in stitches from the start.

Patrice Thibaud and Phillipe Leygnac are impeccably paired as classic funny man-straight man comedy duo. Small and dapper, Leygnac is the passive, sidekick to the larger, genially exuberant Thibaud.

An accomplished musician and contortionist, Leygnac plays ragtime, classical, jazz and film soundtracks on a variety of instruments, with constant interruption from Thibaud, principle mime and overgrown child of a partner who persists in pestering him until he can take no more. And it is this relationship, filled with hilarious non-stop sparring and one-upmanship that drives the show.

From its wonderfully surprising opening act through to adept cycling techniques, a spaghetti western, a funny shadow duck play, and crazy circus, this duo will have you marvelling at their ability to conjure up a whole world of illusions out of nothing, with no words and very few props.

What takes the show beyond being just a series of sketches is their astutely observed situations, and that the constant break-up and make-up of their relationship reflects the interchange of human lives; our hopes, fears and utter ridiculousness as human beings.

In the still of the night, a quarrelsome couple toss and turn in bed, caught up in a strange series of fleeting dreams. While he is busy battling with his mischievous duvet, she morphs into a shadow who loves to play jokes. There’s more: a pianist who plays upside down, a sleepwalker who takes to the air. All put in an appearance during this striking visual tale that reshapes the boundaries of reality and imagination.

True originals Cécile Roussat and Julien Lubek graduated from the International Mimodrama School in Paris, where they studied under the supervision of the late mime legend Marcel Marceau. In this crossover between mime, dance, circus arts and object theatre, the duo deliver an unforgettable performance that moves everyday situations into the realm of the poetic and absurd. With music of Vivaldi, Schubert, Chopin and a lot more, the show is full of imagination, creating a sense of boundary-free universality.

As darkness draws in, it’s bedtime for young Lulu. But the mischievous boy is not ready to retire. Nor, it seems, are the objects in his room where a toy rabbit, a pillow and a pair of socks all come to life. They dance around, moving when Lulu does and generally having a spree behind the little lad’s back. Restless Lulu gets up and lies down, but as sleep continues to elude him, he decides to play with the rabbit instead. When Lulu finally does nod off, even his dreams keep him on the move and far too soon he is awake again. What is the tired tot to do now to handle this long sleepless night?

“Beautiful, moving and dangerous, Compagnie IETO reinvents the possibilities of life in bold strokes of lyrical imagery and movement. Mesmerising. ” – Total Theatre (UK)

Mosi Espinoza and Fnico Feldmann take us to lofty new heights in an inventive show that combines tightrope and acrobatic skills with street-dance, mime, comedy – and wooden benches!

The scene is set with subdued lighting and a long wooden bench; the two men sitting on it as if waiting for a bus. Each has a character: Espinoza, a goofy grin and curious demeanour, and Feldmann, in contrast, cool and austere.

Espinoza eagerly tries to befriend his stern counterpart, who snubs him by exploding in a whirl of speedy, light footed back-flips and cartwheels, to which of course, he must respond.

And so ensues an ingeniously flowing and constantly changing sequence of body curls and flying jumps that navigate the show into an impressive exhibition of equilibrist skills performed on up-ended benches that are climbed, hung from, raced along, and balanced upon with the ease and agility of wild monkey’s.

The command of equilibrium and timing, let alone trust, is pushed further when they form a giant T out of two benches, race up it, and use it like a see-saw with such fearless precision that you’re left gripping the edge of your seat.

The power of words links two hit shows from Belgium’s SKaGeN company, performed by the astonishing Valentijn Dhaenens.

BigMouth is a crash-course in the art of rhetoric, interweaving fragments of speeches by famous figures from ancient Greeks to Hitler, from the Grand Inquisitor to Martin Luther King, Osama Bin Laden, Mohammad Ali and George W. Bush, into one frightening whole. Dhaenens employs not just his voice but his entire body to show the good, bad, and downright ugly sides of mankind through the ages, revealing the magic of oratory as an irresistible force of persuasion. Songs by Nirvana and others tell their own stories as BigMouth examines justice, war, racism and retribution in a monodrama where past and present are in a constant dialogue.

Where SmallWaR is about men standing on big platforms giving speeches while other people go to flight wars for them, Dhaenens’ second show turns to those sent to fight. Set in 1914 in a WorldWar I field dressing station behind the lines, SmallWaR tells its stories in the words of ordinary citizens and soldiers who were there, and loved ones left behind. Using ingenious digital technology, the cast of haracters and personas played by Dhaenens are able to interact on stage, heightening our understanding of the frightening inevitability of war and its disastrous effects. In this second theatrical tour de force, Dhaenens proves himself once again an electrifying performer, perfectly in tune with his unforgettable text.

Already sold out and acclaimed in Europe, America and Australia – come see both profound and superbly staged performances.