May B

May B sets in motion the parade of a drifting human condition with the invention of an abrupt theatrical language that transforms the ridiculous, the violent and the distressing in situations. The dance’s power comes from its capacity to represent the mystery of our presence in the world.
About the Performance
This piece based on the writings of Samuel Beckett, whose work contradicts in its theatrical movement and atmosphere the physical and aesthetic performance of a dancer, has enabled us to lay the grounds for a secret deciphering of our most intimate, hidden and ignored gestures. To succeed in unveiling the tiny or spectacular gestures of the many unnoticeable and inconspicuous lives in which waiting and «not quit still» stillness create a void, a huge nothingness, a silent space filled with the hesitations. When Beckett’s characters yearn for stillness, they cannot help moving; be it a little or a lot, they move. In this essentially theatrical work, the point, for us, was less to develop words and speech than blown up form of movement, thus seeking the meeting point between movement applied to theatre on the one hand, and dance and choreographic language on the other.
Maguy Mari

(…) She is blessed with a sense of fantasy and of the absurd – and in Samuel Beckett’s plays, she has found a perfect focus for meditating upon life’s absurdities. Like Beckett, she works with archetypal characters – his, in fact – and using universals, makes the human condition look very specific. The 10 dancers onstage are a composite of Beckett’s characters, – their faces plastered with gray chalk that flies out as they move. Clad in ill fitting night clothes, they trudge their alienated way in unison – remarkably precise in every movement – toward self-discovery. Sex is what they discover early on in a manic twitching sequence, but we also see them register an increasing range of emotions – hostility, fear and tenderness. (…) 

Anna Kisselgoff The New York Times – 1986 

CREDITS
distribution: choreography Maguy Marin and 10 dancers .
light designer: Alexandre Beneteaud .
costumes: Louise Marin
original music: Franz Schubert, Gilles de Binche, Gavin Bryars

coproducteurs: Compagnie Maguy Marin
Maison des Arts et de la Culture de Créteil

La Compagnie Maguy Marin is subsidized by le Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, la Ville de Lyon, la Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and receives financial support from l’Institut français for projects abroad.

AGENDA
under construction

Previous dates

2023
January 2023
20 May B – Le Channel, Calais (FR)
21 May B – Le Channel, Calais (FR)
31 May B – Tanzbiennale, Heidelberg (DE)
[…]

2022

February 2022
22 May B –  Théâtre le Forum, Saint-Raphaël (FR)
24 May B –  Scène 55, Mougins (FR)

March 2022
15 May B – Pôle en Scènes, Bron (FR)
18 May B – Théâtre, Thionville (FR)
21 May B – Nuithonie, Fribourg (CH)
24 May B – Théâtre, Bourg-en-Bresse (FR)
25 May B – Théâtre, Bourg-en-Bresse (FR)
26 May B – Théâtre, Bourg-en-Bresse (FR)

May 2022
20 May B – GuiDance, Guimaraes (PT)
24 May B – Teszt Festival, Timisoara (RO)
27 May B – Concert Hall, Istanbul (TQ)
28 May B – Concert Hall, Istanbul (TQ)
31 May B – Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana (SL)

June 2022
7 May B – ViaFest, Sofia (BL)

October 2022
07 Umwelt – Le Rive Gauche, Saint Etienne Du Rouvray (FR)
15 May B – Quai 9, Lanester (FR)
18 May B – Onyx, Saint Herblain (FR)

November 2022
12 May B – Macao (CN)
18 May B – Saitama (JP)
19 May B – Saitama (JP)
20 May B – Saitama (JP)


2021
September 2021

15 May B – Teatro Español y Naves del Español en Matadero, Madrid (ES)
16 May B – Teatro Español y Naves del Español en Matadero, Madrid (ES)
17 May B – Teatro Español y Naves del Español en Matadero, Madrid (ES)
18 May B – Teatro Español y Naves del Español en Matadero, Madrid (ES)

November 2021
4 May B – Dublin International Dance Festival, Dublin (IE)
5 May B – Dublin International Dance Festival, Dublin (IE)
6 May B – Dublin International Dance Festival, Dublin (IE)
10 May B – Scènes de territoire, Bressuire (FR)
13 May B- Théâtre de Sénart, Scène Nationale, Sénart (FR)
14 May B- Théâtre de Sénart, Scène Nationale, Sénart (FR)

December 2021
9 May B – Le Zef, Marseille (FR)
10 May B – Le Zef, Marseille (FR)

Photo: Hervé Deroo