Review from: CIRCa Festival, Auch; October 2022
This review was written as part of a module on the BA Circus degree at SKH. You can read more student reviews from CIRCa here.
During the festival CIRCa in Auch, I saw the new show by Johann le Guillerm called Terces. This piece comes after a series of some others shows, every time he uses a part of his last show to create a continuity in his world. This review is aimed at everyone that would be interested in the work of Johann, and those who have seen the show. I am a student, doing a bachelor in circus at SKH (DOCH), and I am a juggler that has a big interest in objects, and in the relationship between objects and humans. My review will be oriented towards the relationship between Johann and his objects.
In my opinion, this show is a masterpiece. Johann created so many objects, and he brings those one by one during the performance. It is like an exhibition of objects, you are drawn into a mix between a circus show, a performance, and a museum. It is impossible to categorise this piece, and that creates something even more magical. Each object is a never-before seen creation, which increases the awesomeness of the piece.
I enjoyed the shapes that the objects create. For example, in the beginning of the show, Johann uses a big piece of plastic. This plastic can be transformed into so many different shapes thanks to perfect manipulation. For every shape, the audience is fully surprised and to me this is the goal of a show – and especially a circus show.
He uses patterns. As a juggler, it is something that I really enjoyed. A pattern is a repetition of something several times. The audience has the time to analyse all the details, and it helps to understand what the artist wants to say. We can see that he has a background in juggling because jugglers are experts in patterns. For example, in the middle of the performance he is using bottles and to leave the stage he rolls on those. He places one bottle after another under his back to move forward. The audience really understands where he is going and laughs at this
moment.
He is also using repetitions, and to me it is a strong key to help the audience to be drawn into his world. It is also a mark to me of his past in juggling, in the same way as the uses of patterns. For example, almost every time that he shows an object, and manipulates it, he turns on himself at the same time, with the same rhythm. To me, it is useful for several reasons:
– all the audience (that is placed in circular) can see what is happening
– it creates a moment of suspension
– it creates movements, and I was hypnotised by this motion.
The repetition is marked also by the use of his voice. Sometimes, Johann is using a strong breath. This sound is linked to the sounds of his objects, and it comes back several times during the show. It creates surprising moments, and it helps the audience to come back to his world.
I loved that Johann sometimes left an object alone on stage. Thanks to that, the audience admired even more the beauty of it. It speaks for itself. For example, we can see a cart crossing the stage by itself. It is moving forward thanks to the water movement. The rhythm of the cart is slow, and it contrasted with the objects that came before it.
Johann is manipulating both objects and the mind of his audience. Patterns, rhythms, shapes and repetitions are the key that makes this show as awesome as it is. The mix between simplicity of the understanding of the show and at the same time the complexity of all the objects is the perfect combination to draw the audience into Johann’s world.
