Before you read this – please put on your favourite Barry White album…
We want to make love. A little menage à trois baby – just us, you & Barry White. There are enough songs about heartbreak but heartmake? We have had enough of the heartache – we just want to make a show (because we love making shows) about things we love. Nothing more nothing less. More love is needed in the world and we want to focus our energy on that because, in the words of Barry’s first album – we’ve got so much to give. In an interview, Barry was questioned about why his songs are so long. He said he didn’t believe in leaving people wanting more – he wanted people to be satisfied. Following in his footsteps, we will make our show longer than usual – people can leave as soon as they feel satisfied – whether thats after 5 minutes or 2 hours (don’t worry – we will not make this application too long. The neoliberal market has told us to make 1 hour shows, over and over – 1 hour is the timeline we have to tell our stories – it is ‘natural’, unquestioned. Well move aside Milton Friedman and step aside for Barry! And what better way to set out on this journey of love than with people we love, doing the thing we love, in places we love. Hanging, climbing, throwing, catching, singing, dancing, rejoicing – all with love. We will pour our hearts out, not with sorrow this time, we will make it rain, release those clouds, they don’t need to hold our tears – let the sun shine. Say it with us, out loud please – in your office, living room or bed or wherever you are! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
Francesca Hyde
Lucie N’Duhirahe
Stéphanie N’Duhirahe
Luke Horley
About Collectif and then…
Collectif and then… is a monster.It has many limbs, many eyes, many voices and many qualities which we don’t have the vocabulary for. The monster has devoured artists, thinkers & mischief makers. The core artists in the belly of the beast are aerialists. They bounce around its body, glimpsing out it’s many eyes and bringing people in through the mouth. They are big & strong and have beaming smiles! They opt for disgrace over grace, elephant over elegant and naughty over nice. They are proud that reviewers have noted their ‚ungainly‘ style. More practically speaking: We graduated from circus schools (NCCA, London and The Circus School of Quebec) in 2009– upon which we set sail on our first endeavour – an aerial street performance aboard a dutch barge along the waterways of France and London where we make spontaneous improvised cabaret performances. Since then commissions and awards include the Royal Opera House Firsts Award (2010), Jerwood Propeller prize for contemporary circus for our show ‘Lost Post’ (2012), Gone in 20 minutes commission and the Development Prize (2014) for ‘Caution do not swallow’ outdoor performance/installation in collaboration with Serbian collective Karkatag which toured the UK. Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award (2015/16) for our Interactive performance installation „The Machine“ which premiered at The Barbican.
