Following ‘Babemba’, a superb
choreographic piece by Serge Aimé
Coulibaly about modern African politics from
Burkina Faso, the Tarmac de la Villette has on
offer for August a performance with
marionettes by the Théâtre des Alberts from
the island of Réunion.
Marionettes have been one of the themes
of this year’s theatre season, from the
Comédie-Française to the Théâtre Paris-
Villette. One of their main attractions is the
combination of manipulator and manipulated,
the real and the artificial and the magical way
that marionettes of all sizes can take on a life
of their own and tell their own stories,
independent of the actor/manipulators. This is
the major issue of ‘Accidents’, to run at the
Tarmac from August 5-30.
The director, Martial Anton, takes the view
that when the chaos of life comes into contact
with the order of stage conventions, it can
create accidents – stories which can be
interpreted in any number of ways. And these
stories are aimed at a broad audience, adults
and adolescents alike. He sees the marionettes
as innocent victims, submitted to the cynical
wills of the actor/manipulators, who have
devised the stories themselves. There are four
manipulators, 10 characters and six stories, all
of which he reckons have 27 different
outcomes, according to the audience’s
imagination… unless, of course, something
goes wrong and accidents happen.
The six stories are all of universal interest,
whether banal, everyday or tragic, and all are
subject to the laws of gravity, people’s
fantasies and the unexpected. ‘Marguerite’ is
the story of a housewife with a romantic
imagination, who lives a dull life until one day
the telephone rings and opens up the
possibility of love. In ‘Le Destin miraculeux
de Guiseppe’, little Guiseppe looks out for the
postman, until one day he receives a fatal
letter. ‘Joseph Balki’ is the story of an
alcoholic who discovers hope. ‘Solitude
vericale’ reveals the lives and solitude of
people living in a tower block. In ‘Luis’, 97-
year-old Margareth dreams of her lost love,
and ‘A l’abri du monde’ is about the
relationship between Félicité and her dog.
The programme promises to be full of
variety, surprises and a range of emotions,
orchestrated by the actor/manipulators who
comment by their own reactions on the objects
they manipulate. The stage will be bare,
sparsely furnished, with objets trouvés,
wooden boxes, pieces of metal and
newspapers. This will give considerable scope
for the talents of Isabelle Martinez,
Alexandra-Shiva Mélis, Stéphane Deslandes
and Vincent Legrand to work their magic and
create a total form of visual theatre.
The Tarmac de la Villette is a small, square
building tucked away behind the Grande Halle
de la Villette, among the leafy greenery and
concrete and metal fantasia of the Parc de la
Villette in the 19th arrondissement. It is a
relaxing experience, the bar is laid-back and
the audience can sit outside with their drinks
and soak up the atmosphere of the park. It can
seat about 150 in its well-equipped
auditorium. In spite of its modest appearance,
the Tarmac is the only theatre in Paris to
dedicate its repertoire to contemporary work
by artists from French-speaking communities
all over the world. Contrary to the main
Parisian theatres, its season runs from spring
to autumn, and this year the season has
already produced work from Quebec,
Lebanon and Burkina Faso.
As well as being a cultural melting pot,
from which companies go on throughout the
French-speaking world from Belgium to the
Congo, the Tarmac introduces performers of
considerable talent and versatility.
Le Tarmac’s season finishes with a
theatrical story telling session by a Belgian/
Vietnamese artist, Michèle Nguyen,
‘A quelques pas de chez elle’ in September,
and two plays by Gustave Akopo from Togo
in November.
Tarmac de la Villette: 01 40 03 93 95
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