Living on the Edge

A construction site might seem like an unlikely inspiration for a performance,but for the French artistic troupe Compagnie Kafig,it represents their story of survival and struggle to be heard. “In most places a city’s abandoned spaces are considered notorious for their shady elements,so the locals avoid going there. But there is a minority community living here whose voices get marginalised,” explains Mourad Merzouki,36,Artistic Director of Compagnie Kafig,the eight-member troupe of actors,circus artistes and dancers,who will be performing their latest production Wasteland (Terrain Vague in French) today as part of the ongoing Bonjour India: Festival Of France,in India. Created in 2006 by Merzouki,in Lyon,France,for his dance troupe Kafig,Wasteland is his 13 th production and recreates the city’s barren spaces like construction sites on stage with elements like metal sheets,tyres,pipes,ladders and barrels.

The performers step,stomp and perform various acrobatic stunts that blend the fluidity of circus movements,raw power of hip-hop steps and the flamboyance of flamenco to convey the emotions of the inhabitants in a wasteland. A single street light illuminates the stage as performers fade in and out at intervals. “We have taken various acrobatic movements from different art forms and blended them to form an artistic vocabulary. The challenge was to take these forms and modify them for the stage,” says Merzouki,who is a trained circus artist and hip hop dancer himself.

The story is simple as it revolves around the people living in the wastelands and their individual aspirations. There are builders who are determined to evict them,ruffians who want to assert themselves over the territory,disillusioned youth and a young girl who form the canvas of the wasteland.

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The hour-long production does not have a script or make use of dialogues as performers rely on body movements,choreographed with the help of a background score. The score takes its cue from North African,Andalucian and French cultures. “The production is mostly autobiographical in nature as it talks of the place where I played as a child and of my parents who are of Algerian descent. So one sees how the minority groups strive for space in cosmopolitan society,” explains Merzouki,who has already performed the play in Chennai last week.

With over 200 shows worldwide in places like New York,Bangkok,Macau,Italy and Spain this will be the troupe’s first visit to India. He is currently working on another stage production called Debussy Ensemble for September 2010,which combines martial arts like Taekwondo and American boxing to the rhythm of French classical music.

The production will be staged at the Siri Fort Auditorium today and tomorrow.
Time: 7 pm. Entry is free