X-FOIS GENS CHAISE

Twenty feet above the sidewalk, white chairs are attached to the walls of buildings in the Latin Quarter, with ten senior citizens sitting on them. One is knitting, another folds laundry and a third is eating. All of them appear to be floating above everyday concerns, their strange position adding an enchanting note to the cityscape. Old age becomes urban poetry, insisting that we stop and take a look.

Affixed to the façades of buildings on St. Denis Street, they are an evocative display of passing time, blurring distinctions so that life becomes art. Some might walk by without noticing them, but others will raise their heads and stop to gaze at this surprising image of mature angels adding a touch of grace to the urban space.

An undisciplined and interdisciplinary German artist who specializes in site-specific interventions, Angie Hiesl concocted this “human exhibit” so that we might view elderly people as works of art. After winning over audiences in Europe and South America, her group will make its North American début with this beautifully disconcerting performance installation.

PRODUCED BY ANGIE HIESL PRODUKTION
DIRECTED BY ANGIE HIESL
ARTISTIC ASSISTANT ROLAND KAISER
WITH ARIANE JOVY + WIM DE LANG + PETER LEHMANN + GISELA OEHLSCHLÄGER + AGNES WINTERSBERGER + LOCAL PERFORMERS
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR MICHAEL BLATTMANN

CO-PRESENTED BY QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES
WITH THE SUPPORT OF GOETHE-INSTITUTE + MINISTÈRE DES AFFAIRES ÉTRANGÈRES DE L’ALLEMAGNE
THE PRESENTATION OF X-FOIS GENS CHAISE IS PART OF THE ACTIVITIES MARKING THE 50^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GOETHE-INSTITUTE OF MONTRÉAL.

WRITTEN BY DIANE JEAN
TRANSLATED BY NEIL KROETSCH

PREMIERED IN COLOGNE, NOVEMBER 1995