RAOUL
James Thiérrée
Friday 2nd March 2012
Raoul was a show that I had not heard much about, a one man show that would knock you socks off was pretty much all I had to go on when I was given a free ticket at the end of my volunteer shift. At first I was keen to give the ticket away to any passerby as I was meeting some friends for drinks at another happening festival hot spot. I am soooo happy now that all the people I offered it to already had tickets or just had no idea what I was trying to palm off to them because my goodness does James Thiérrée know how to put on a good show!
I was first struck by the sheer scale of the set, giant billowing sheets of fabric made it feel as if we were looking into a world among the clouds or among the waves. It was then amazing to see these sheets effortlessly unfold and glide into place creating a patchwork backdrop and revealing what appeared to be a ramshackle homemade hut.
As soon as that fabric had revealed the stage the magic began.
Thiérrée's Raoul is a mixture of acrobatics, slapstick, music and dance. The seamless way Raoul tumbles through different encounters and fantasies is almost unbelievable. Thiérrée is able to move his body in such streamlined and fluid movements that he had me on the edge of my seat, mouth open, almost turning the the woman next to me and exclaiming "how is he doing that!!!"
My mind was well and truly blown when Raoul was swirling around with a giant mirror, one moment he was on the stage looking at himself in the mirror, the mirror then obstructed his face from our view and then there he was running through the stalls towards the stage! In the split second that he was near the wings he swapped with his body double and went into the audience. I still dont really understand how it happened, it was so smooth! The talent and accuracy that this show required was really just astounding.
My favourite aspect was how completely foreign the world of Raoul was, what with a giant ghost like elephant, a huge jellyfish, a pretty persistant shellfish roaming about and a house that talks back, but at the same time it is a world that is familiar and instantly recognisable. There is a moment when Raoul struggles to get comfortable in his armchair to read a book, it is a situation that is familiar to so many of us. The fact that Thiérrée can take these ordinary human experiences and make them so beautiful amazes me, I'm sure I resemble more of a fish out of water when getting cozy, but it was reasuring to see that im not the only one who thinks that maybe upside down with my feet in the air might actually be a more comfortable way to sit.
Raoul took my breath away and left me at the edge of my seat from start to finish.
On leaving the theatre I instantly told all my friends about Raoul, that if they saw one thing at the festival it had to be this. Raoul was the standout performance of the festival.
My selling line to them:
I clapped my hands to bloody stumps.
I was first struck by the sheer scale of the set, giant billowing sheets of fabric made it feel as if we were looking into a world among the clouds or among the waves. It was then amazing to see these sheets effortlessly unfold and glide into place creating a patchwork backdrop and revealing what appeared to be a ramshackle homemade hut.
As soon as that fabric had revealed the stage the magic began.
Thiérrée's Raoul is a mixture of acrobatics, slapstick, music and dance. The seamless way Raoul tumbles through different encounters and fantasies is almost unbelievable. Thiérrée is able to move his body in such streamlined and fluid movements that he had me on the edge of my seat, mouth open, almost turning the the woman next to me and exclaiming "how is he doing that!!!"
My mind was well and truly blown when Raoul was swirling around with a giant mirror, one moment he was on the stage looking at himself in the mirror, the mirror then obstructed his face from our view and then there he was running through the stalls towards the stage! In the split second that he was near the wings he swapped with his body double and went into the audience. I still dont really understand how it happened, it was so smooth! The talent and accuracy that this show required was really just astounding.
My favourite aspect was how completely foreign the world of Raoul was, what with a giant ghost like elephant, a huge jellyfish, a pretty persistant shellfish roaming about and a house that talks back, but at the same time it is a world that is familiar and instantly recognisable. There is a moment when Raoul struggles to get comfortable in his armchair to read a book, it is a situation that is familiar to so many of us. The fact that Thiérrée can take these ordinary human experiences and make them so beautiful amazes me, I'm sure I resemble more of a fish out of water when getting cozy, but it was reasuring to see that im not the only one who thinks that maybe upside down with my feet in the air might actually be a more comfortable way to sit.
Raoul took my breath away and left me at the edge of my seat from start to finish.
On leaving the theatre I instantly told all my friends about Raoul, that if they saw one thing at the festival it had to be this. Raoul was the standout performance of the festival.
My selling line to them:
I clapped my hands to bloody stumps.
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