Rather a Ditch

Woman as landscape, woman as machine. Waiting for the train, or the train itself. A jerky, jolting journey of the body set to frenetic music. And then, silence. Echoing the hypnotic Steve Reich album Different Trains she listened to as a child, Clara Furey directs Céline Bonnier in a visceral, existentialist solo.

What if we had taken the wrong train? How do survivors cope with guilt and gratitude? Furey examines the questions Reich asks about the sacrificed of history, probing the fragility of our destinies. The silence resonates with the profound solitude of humanity facing itself after the chaos. Paying meticulous attention to breathing, to the subtle bursts of energy in the paper wall imagined by the visual artist Caroline Monnet, Clara Furey explores the body’s states of being, carving a new language into the abyss. Spare, vibrant, magnetic.

Produced by Clara Furey
Executive Producer Par B.L.eux
Original Idea Olivier Bertrand
Concept and Artistic Direction Clara Furey
Created with and performed by Céline Bonnier
Sonic Conception Jean-François Blouin
Sonic Research Ida Toninato
Set Design Caroline Monnet
Lighting Design Karine Gauthier
Costume Design Michèle Hamel
Outside Eyes Andrew Tay + Christopher Willes
Lighting Design Assistant Tim Rodrigues
Technical Direction Maude Bernier
Distribution Par B.L.eux

Co-produced by Festival TransAmériques + La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines
With the support of Centro per la Scena Contemporanea (Bassano del Grappa) + Danse à la Carte + Par B.L.eux

Codiffusion La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines

Clara Furey is an associate artist at Par B.L.eux

Written by Elsa Pépin
Translated by Neil Kroetsch

Premiered at Festival TransAmériques, Montreal, on May 26, 2019