Walk Talk Chalk

Walk Talk Chalk rises from the ashes of what has been laid waste by an all-consuming passion.

PIERRE DROULERS

Walk Talk Chalk rises from the ashes of what has been laid waste by an all-consuming passion. Written in a sepulchral and broken-hearted voice, the anonymous 17th-century Letters of a Portuguese Nun tell the story of an extraordinary, insane and impossible love – and of unbearable separation : “And I flatter myself that I have put you in a state in which you can enjoy but imperfect pleasures without me“.

Walk Talk Chalk delves into the heart of our darkness – into those unfathomable, unknown chasms within us – to embark on a journey which (perhaps) will only come to an end when we allow ourselves the respite we really crave. In response to the Christian-tinged redemption contained in the nun’s words is an holistic vision which puts hope in despair and good in evil from John Giorno’s poem Eating the Sky, the second emblematic text on which the piece is balanced. Two intense and paradoxical visions exploring the confusion found in people and in existence itself. Confusion in the image of this journey we are invited to take by Pierre Droulers; at times full of searing intensity – lightning, fire and a residual haze – and at times lit by absurd projections, before being invaded by an awakening that becomes apparent along the way.

A stage version of a mise en abyme, Walk Talk Chalk oscillates endlessly between collapse and reconstruction. For after all, despite the catastrophes and chasms that have appeared, we end up recovering. And yet this strange cloud continues to glide above our heads.

Credits

Concept and choreography  Pierre Droulers
Performed and created by Stefan Dreher, Thomas Hauert, Clémence Galliard, Hanna Athi, Martin Roehrich
Artistic assistant Olivier Balzarini
Musical composition and film Denis Mariotte
Lighting Yves Godin
Costumes d’andt
Choreographic adviser Johanne Saunier
Dramaturgical adviser Antoine Pickels
Collaborating artists Michel François, Gwendoline Robin
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Production Charleroi Danses
Co-production Kunstenfestivaldesarts / Festival de Marseille / Le Merlan, scène nationale in Marseille / marseille objectif dansE / La Bâtie-Festival de Genève
Support Les Brigittines, City of Brussels Contemporary Arts Centre for Movement and Voice / Centre National de danse contemporaine d’Angers / Théâtre du Grütli in Geneva / Wallonie Bruxelles International / Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre/Danse

More information

www.charleroi-danses.be

Updating: May 2013