SMASHED TO PIECES
La Belle Meunière, La Poétique des Signes, France
Festival d’Avignon le Théâtre de la Bastille, France
Teatrskop, Serbia
The performance was realized with the support of the “Teatroskop” program, founded by the French Institute, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France.
By and with: Marguerite Bordat, Raphaël Cottin and Pierre Meunier
Thanks to: Frédéric Kunze and Hans Kunze
Administration: Caroline Tigeot
Sales manager: Florence Kremper – Lise Daynac
Running time: 75`
“There is a happy and joyful feeling in the act of breaking, in granting oneself this right, in putting all of one’s energy in this task. There is this very first and primitive pleasure of breaking what precedes us, the things we inherited and that sometimes burden us…. In Smashed to pieces, the burlesque and liberating dimension of destruction cohabits with a more touching and disturbing dimension of destruction, a more subtle questioning of normal everyday life.”
Pierre Meunier,director
The show “Smashed to pieces” (Buffet à vif) takes its source in the “Sujets à vif”, an answer to the invitation of the SACD (French Author’s society) and the Avignon Festival to Pierre Meunier and Raphaël Cottin to present a piece together. Based on encounters and inventiveness, “Sujets à Vifs” invite two artists who are involved in two different artistic processes and who don’t yet know each other to create a short 30 minutes piece which is presented during the Avignon Festival. The original French title “Buffet à vif” is inspired by the original framework “Sujets à vif” and therefore cannot be translated as such.
[…] Smashed to pieces is like a lucky bag with a smell of fireworks as a bonus! The never irrational excessiveness of this performance has the air of an extravagant lesson about humanity and its efforts to exist.
Led by two clowns so unlike and yet so similar, this theatre of destruction and disintegration, fierce and wanton, yet nonetheless joyful (for breaking can be so soothing) completes in its own way an astonishing cycle of life.
Rosita Boisseau, “Le Monde”
“La Belle Meunière” is supported by the French Ministry of Culture DRAC Auvergne Rhône
Alpes, the Regional Council Auvergne Rhône Alpes and the County Council of the Allier Département. “La Poétique des Signes” has received financial support from the French Ministry of Culture DRAC Centre Val de Loire, the Regional Council Centre Val de Loire, the County Council of the Indre et Loire Département and from the city of Tours since 2014.
With support of European Capital of Culture Foundation “Novi Sad 2021” and program Teatroskop, initiated by the Institut français, Ministry of culture and Ministry of European and foreign affairs of Republic of France.