L’après-midi d’un foehn – version 1 Look and see

An NAC French Theatre presentation
Recommended for ages 5 to 99!
No spoken words in the performance

 Surrounding the ring, an array of inward-facing fans. In the middle, a rather odd-looking puppeteer who is using the breeze from the fans to breathe life into some unconventional characters: dozens of multicoloured plastic bags. Caught on the rising drafts, the little bags perform an astonishing airborne dance, and our imagination soars right along with them! A delicate and poetic juggling act that explores the magic in everyday things.

L’après-midi d’un foehn – version 1 has stayed with me, an indelible memory that has remained intensely vivid over time. We never know what surprises await as we sit in a darkened theatre, waiting for the show to begin. A few minutes later, out we come with a sparkling treasure lodged in our imagination! These precious moments orchestrated by Phia Ménard are mesmerizing and sublime.
Mélanie Dumont, Associate Artistic Director, Youth Programming

What if we humans, firmly anchored to the earth, could also escape gravity, free at last to flirt with the wandering breezes, to be transported aloft in an aerial waltz? And what if, with reckless abandon, we gave in to the urge to explore uncharted territory, to venture into the unknown and make each of our limbs an independent, uncontrolled part of ourselves?
Phia Ménard, writer and director

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Pre-Show Activities: A reading corner, craft-making with recycled plastic bags … Children and their parents are invited to arrive 45 minutes before the show for free activities that will give them a taste of the creative spirit and setting of the play.

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In L’après-midi d’un foehn, Ménard takes the humble plastic bag, scourge of our age, and turns it into a magical performer. Ingeniously, the precise alignment of the fans and the varied strength of current enable Ménard to choreograph this unconventional dance company with astonishing precision.
Sarah Hemming, Financial Times

A French mime artist uses plastic bags to create a show that is unique and utterly captivating…. Plastic bags become flying superheroes, floating ghosts, feisty little creatures who dance and fight…. It is the best use of the derided plastic bag I have ever seen.
—Neil Norman, Daily Express (London, UK)

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Phia Ménard     juggler of forms
Phia Ménard fell in love with the arts, and with juggling in particular, after seeing the show Extraballe by master juggler Jérôme Thomas. She subsequently studied juggling techniques and theatrical composition under him, and joined his company as a writer and performer, touring to the four corners of the globe. In 1998 she founded her own company, Compagnie Non Nova. A strikingly original artist, Phia Ménard juggles genres and intermingles disciplines to create unique performance events. Actively engaged in the artistic community, she frequently participates in conferences on issues of art and gender. In January 2014 she was appointed a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la France.


Jean-Louis Ouvrard      actor and tightrope walker
Jean-Louis Ouvrard launched his acting career in 1983 after training in contemporary dance, voice, clowning, mask, mime, theatre of movement and gesture, and theatre of objects. He is the cofounder (1991) of Théâtre ZOsU. A multitalented creator, he has been simultaneously performer, director, puppeteer, choreographer and costume designer on several shows. He joined Compagnie Non Nova in 2011 for the remount of L’aprèsmidi d’un foehn – version 1.

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Written and directed by Phia Ménard // Assistant director: Jean-Luc Beaujault // Performed by Jean-Louis Ouvrard // Sound: Ivan Roussel, based on Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun // Puppets: Phia Ménard and Claire Rigaud // Stage manager: Olivier Gicquiaud

Produced by Compagnie Non Nova

Saturday, December 19 at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
and Sunday, December 20 at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m in the NAC Studio

Running time: 25 minutes

Tickets: $15 for adults and children

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