The company

Artistic Background

Creating a new form of theatre

In the early ’80s, Montreal was the focal point for the rediscovery of body language in the performing arts. And in 1981, a group of artists of various backgrounds (gymnastics, theatre, juggling and mime) was the first to set up a company whose aim would be to focus on movement to create a new theatre form: Theatre of Acrobatic Movement.

Making movement dramatic

To create this form of theatre, the company combined various acrobatic and theatre techniques. In an art form such as this, not only does the storyline need to be created—as in most plays—but above all a unique physical vocabulary in which meaning, feeling, drive and virtuosity are conveyed through movement. With each new production, the creative team rebuilds the relationship between movement, text, lights, music and set. Over 25 years, this form has spread far and wide. Yet, as it develops productions, the company keeps questioning this form and pushing it further.

Deepening the meaning and touching the emotions - early successes

Creating Mur-Mur (The Wall) in 1987 was a pivotal moment for the company. Indeed, this one-hour production was the first truly convincing Theatre-of-Acrobatic-Movement production. This collective creation proved to be a huge hit with close to 1,500 performances, the best-production award at the TEATRALIA festival in Spain and a nomination at the Canadian Dora Mavor More awards. All of which encouraged the company to continue in the same direction. A writing style unique to this theatre form was already emerging, shaped by both the scriptwriter and the director. Accordingly for the following production, the company turned to a playwright who scripted The Challenge, a more dramatic work in which characters are better defined, their souls and innermost feelings coming to light through “fixed points”. A few years later, the company premiered Echoes of the River, in which the feats of a hero embody the secret hopes of a long-forgotten people. This time, the acrobatics were focused on group movements while the voice of a storyteller added another level to the production. At the end of the ‘90s, this series of original works showed that it was possible to script a play whose primary language was movement and that this theatre form could thrill audiences around the world.

Movement and words - images and reality

In subsequent works, the company explored the role of words in movement-based productions. In 2000, the company premiered Lili, a more poetic and intimate work in which acrobatic movements reflect both the real world with its enthusiasm and excitement and the inner one with its fragile emotions and anxieties. Theatre of Acrobatic Movement was evolving in surprising ways: the acrobatics that so impress audiences were receding into the background while increasingly enabling characters, their goals and feelings. The next production, me me me... (2003), dealt with a specifi topic: school children rejecting one of their own. Through the use of the objects, furniture and walls in the classroom, the movement, both acrobatic and everyday, conveyed the emotional mood of a group of school children, a mood that changes for no apparent reason.

Into the world of imagination – broadening the perspective

In 2004, the company brought to the forefront a lesser known aspect of its character-development method: clown work. In Misstart, a production for stage clowns, the characters speak a kind of gibberish that may not seem understandable at first, but becomes crystal-clear for audiences thanks to movement, which is acrobatic, minimalist and absurd. Since then, the company has produced back to back plays that take the company away from the day-to-day concerns of children and delve into the world of imagination and tales. Thrice upon a time… (2006) examines the courage that children must demonstrate in our often strange and forbidding world. As for Ghosts and Ladders (2008), it features a mysterious and imaginary character, whose influence will be crucial for the future of three brothers. The entire family dynamics will be affected. In every production, the various staging devices, whether it be screens, traps or stepladders, create an environment that physically and symbolically evoke the challenges that characters must face and the dangers that they must take on.

Three new plays are already in the works. Directed respectively by Jacqueline Gosselin, Robert Dion and Yves Simard, these works give an idea of the various avenues that Theatre of Acrobatic Movement is taking on. More is yet to come…

Theatre of Acrobatic Movement - is the term still accurate?

Today, Theatre of Acrobatic Movement has spread far and wide and is still thrilling audiences. Moreover, many companies have made use of this form in their own way. Some traditional theatre companies have used acrobatic movement to enrich a play while some circus companies have looked to incorporate the richness of theatre into their art. All these hybrid forms have deeply changed Theatre of Acrobatic Movement. As a result, the type of theatre created by DynamO Théâtre is being questioned and broadened in many ways.

DynamO Théâtre is still exploring movement as intensely as ever and is looking to open up new horizons. Is the phrase “Theatre of Acrobatic Movement” still right to describe the company’s work? Should it be replaced by “Theatre of Movement” or another term (yet to be invented) to convey the whole range and diversity of this form? The company has been trying to answer this question for some time and as always, answers will come from the artistic work and the resulting analysis. At any rate, what DynamO Théâtre is striving for is theatre that draws on the many facets of movement and its meaning.