2012-2013
60'
Price 22 €.
20:30h
Choreographic tragedy or the disturbing strangeness of the ordinary, Press addresses the image of modern man in his immense banality and at the same time in his enigmatic complexity of sound. The body of this individual-product, a disturbing dandy, moves by means of the standardized linkage of his automatisms, but also through the mechanisms in the limited living space where he moves. Perhaps by his own consent, he is held captive in a virtually empty room. The mechanical modifications to the physical and mental environment influence his body, and force him to continually change place and movement. He then finds himself drawn into an absurd and alarming dead end.
Pierre Rigal, after training initially as an athlete, went on to study mathematics and economics in Barcelonaand took a master’s in cinema. Contact with choreographers such as Heddy Maalem, Bernardo Montet and Wim Vandekeybus, and with directors such as Mladen Materic, prompted him to plunge into the world of contemporary dance. In 2002 he joined choreographer Gilles Jobin’s dance company and in 2003 founded the Compagnie Dernière Minute, choreographing and producing his first work, the solo piece Érection, directed by Aurélien Bory.
Conception, set design, choreography and performance Pierre Rigal
Constructor, electrician, rigger Frédéric Stoll
Original live music Nihil Bordures
Sound engineer Nihil Bordures, George Dyson
Artistic assistant Mélanie Chartreux
Production manager Sophie Schneider
Production Assistant Nathalie Vautrin
Production Compagnie Dernière Minute, Gate Theatre
Coproduction International choreographic meetings in Seine-Saint-Denis, Theatre Garonne–Toulouse inLanguedoc
With the support of Regional Department of Cultural Affairs of the Midi-Pyrénées, Regional Council of the Midi-Pyrénées, the General Council of the Haute Garonne, and the Culturesfrance/Toulouse City Council (Languedoc) agreement.
The Compagnie Dernière Minute receives support from the BNP Paribas Foundation to develop its projects.
The show was premiered on the 15 February 2008 at the Gate Theatre inLondon.