Animal Triste

Brianna Lombardo, Riley Sims © Mathieu Doyon

Human beings like to believe they are the centre of the universe. Yet they are aware of dinosaurs, vanished empires, and ice ages. They know their own mortality, but imagine they will live forever. One day, in a bout of lucidity, they might perceive their true nature: fleeting, second-rate. And the next? As free, glorious, triumphant.

Seen from the perspective of the world as a whole, humans are nothing more than sad little animals. But animals who find consolation in beauty and the will to immortality. In pursuit of these, humans will devise religions, philosophies, and civilizations. They will conquer, dominate, oppress. And procreate. They will subject their bodies and minds to measurement and study, they will invent stories and write history. But very rarely will they understand themselves, and complete self-overcoming is impossible. For deep down, humans are only animals of no significance, always craving more, and aspiring to better things.

Animal Triste could be described as a snapshot of humankind, an attempt to understand human nature and human attitudes in all their complexity.

CREDITS
Direction and choreography
Mélanie Demers, in collaboration with the performers | On stage during the creation Marc Boivin, James Gnam, Brianna Lombardo, Riley Sims | Performers Marc Boivin, Riley Sims, Francis Ducharme, Chi Long | Dramaturgy Angélique Willkie | Rehearsal Direction Anne-Marie Jourdenais |
Lighting design Alexandre Pilon-Guay | Original music Jacques Poulin-Denis, Antoine Berthiaume | Creation 2016

Photo gallery

PARTNERS

Animal Triste is a co-production with Canada Dance Festival. The project is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.