Interview

Choreographer of The show must go on, presented on the 3rd and 4th june, at Teatro Rivoli —  reassembly with local cast

Created in 2001, The show must go on has been recreated and restaged in numerous locations around the world. This work is not about you, the choreographer, or your ability to create very complicated choreographies, but instead it is about showcasing the human identities of the individuals that take part in the performance. For this presentation, you will work with Portuguese professional and non-professional dancers. What is about non-professional dancers that interests you, taking into account that this is something that characterises your work?

Well, not only. I like to navigate between amateurs and professionals, even masters of their arts like Pichet Klunchun, the Khon dancer from Thailand, or Véronique Doisneau from the Paris Opera Ballet. I am currently working with a very experienced French actress, Valérie Dréville.  But you are right, this is not so usual to put amateurs on professional stages as I like to do. This is a question of politics: I like to represent normal bodies, daily attitudes and not only the "greatness" of the skilled beautiful and sexy dancers. Especially in the case of The show must go on, as the idea was to represent the audience on stage. The stage is mirroring the audience.

This work has the ability to make the audience laugh but at the same time it suggests an internal personal reflection. Therefore, do you consider that the spectators, in this work, are just as active participants as the performers on stage?

Absolutely, the piece is questioning the société du spectacle [society of the spectacle] theoretised by thinker Guy Debord. The tour de force of the piece is the tension between the entertainment and its critique. The piece is about the pleasure of being entertained and thinking entertainment itself, at the same time. The audience has a lot of space in order to think themselves as spectators about what is theatre, what it is to be an audience, what is the difference between representation and life.  It is a very auto-reflexive experience. Audience can not only consume this piece. They have to "work", they have to produce their spectators' work.

The cast performs 19 pop songs using everyday gestures. Why did you choose pop songs? Does it interest you that the audience and cast are familiar with the songs and lyrics? Some of the songs may be loaded with personal memories or events – is that something that you want to explore?

I wanted to create a kind of equality in the theatre between the stage and the audience, that’s how I had the idea to use pop songs, because famous pop songs belong to everyone, even if you don't like them, they are yours, you know them. It is part of the globalised culture we are all in. But what is interesting of course is, as you say, some pop songs which are part of the globalised cultural industry can be also very personal for some of us. The tension between individual and mass media is something which is at stake in the piece.

What has changed between 2001 – the year you created this piece – and 2020? What external changes do you think had an impact in this piece?

Well, there are less problems. The piece is now very famous and shown all over the world for 20 years now, but back then the audience could react very badly during the performances. We have encountered a few riots during the performances. Now the piece is considered as a cult piece and the audience is much more respectful, thank god!


Interview conducted on March 5, 2020, by Leonor Tudela, in charge of contents at TMP’s communication office.