Plays & Comedy

In Normal Desires, Emile
Pineault invites us to open ourselves to acrobatic sensation. A lone
figure on stage constantly overflows itself, its edges blurred in
kinetic ecstasy. Impact, flux, repetition, constraint, squeezing,
pushing, heat, vibration – Pineault’s work moves us through a series of
states and affective spaces, mobilizing not only the body but also the
powerful technologies of the theatre space to convey a subtle yet
intense physical experience.

Emile Pineault is an experienced circus artist, and in this first
solo work he takes a critical look at the conventions of acrobatic
practice. Here, the circus body in no longer in a position of mastery
but rather criss-crossed with lines of irresistible force. A deep
engagement with light, sound, created live by Julien Brun and Joël
Lavoie, and physical practice works towards the mediation of an
acrobat’s ‘inner-motion’, proposing acrobatics as a shared experience –
fleshy, rigorous, and intensely hypnotizing.

Direction and performance : Emile Pineault

Lighting and set design : Julien Brun

Sound design : Joël Lavoie

Dramaturgic advisor : Sebastian Kann

Outside views : Peter James, Mimi Jeong