The circus show that the Institut Francais will present tonight in Phnom Penh will be a mixture of gravity defying acts and breathtaking pirouettes that typifies contemporary circus.
Held at the big top across the street from the National Assembly, the show will start with the work “Dream,” staged by senior students and teachers from the National Circus School in Phnom Penh, and end with “Me, Myself and Us,” performed by three French circus artists.
“Dream” will be the National School’s first show built around a storyline, said Phok Narin, the school director and the show’s artistic director.
“It’s about a young girl appearing from nowhere, walking into a circus class and seeing circus students rehearse. She then dreams that she has become a circus artist,” Ms. Narin said. While the story unfolds, the 10 artists in the show perform circus stunts at a rapid pace.
This will be followed by the performance of the Tete d’Enfant (Child’s Mind) company, which blends a number of stage forms.
“What I’ve always admired in children is their capacity to so fully express their emotions,” said Guillaume Biron, one of the Tete d’Enfant members. In the show, the artists attempt to recreate this pure emotion, he added.
Mr. Biron met fellow performers Florent Lestage and Nael Jammal while studying at one of the leading circus schools in the world—Montreal’s National Circus School. The trio formed Tete d’Enfant in 2012 and created this show last year. Based in Montreal, they have performed it in five European countries and will stage the show in the Philippines after Phnom Penh.
In “Me, Myself and Us,” Mr. Biron said, “we conceive the stage as a closed space…and [explore] through circus, dance and theater how the characters can cohabit in this space.” The artists do this with humor, he said, “while wandering…in the most fluid way.”
The one-night show will start at 7 p.m.
