Fragan Gehlker, Alexis Auffray & Maroussia Diaz Verbèke

It is hard to accurately describe this performance in words. One can only reveal there is a surprising, amusing and deep side to it. It includes an extremely physical reinterpretation of “Le Mythe de Sisyphe” [The Myth of Sisyphus], by Albert Camus, leading to a broad questioning of a simple object: a rope suspended from the ceiling. Can this harmless object be the main driving force for us to draw conclusions on what worries us? Is this object a metaphor for the problems tormenting us? Fragan Gehlker, rope acrobat, Alexis Auffray, in charge of the performance’s music, and Maroussia Dias Verbèke, entrusted with the task of sewing all these moments together, thus creating a common thread, create a performance with unprecedented intensity, analysing how the void questions life’s absurd nature, and seeking confrontation with (and answers from) those watching it. This is a site-specific performance, and thus each presentation is different. Above all, it seeks to bring us to reflect upon the power of life and our role when facing the unknown in moments of maximum intensity that make us hold our breath—isn’t the life of each one of us also made of this?  


From a young age, Fragan Gehlker entered his parents’ performances and the companies in which his father performed. Later on, he joined the Rosny-sous-Bois School for Circus Arts, and then the Châlons-en-Champagne National Centre for Circus Arts (CNAC). There he started collaborating with other artists such as Arpad Schilling, Emmanuelle Huynh and the Porte 27 collective. In parallel, he created “Le Vide” [The Void], which started during his daily life at CNAC, and which is currently on tour in several countries.

Alexis Auffray is a musician, and he developed a taste for musical art from the classic violin. Prior to being a musician, however, Auffray defines himself today as a “sound” being. He participated in Arpad Schilling’s performances, and that’s how he met Fragan Gehlker. They decided to join efforts and create “Le Vide”.

Maroussia Diaz Verbèke is a dramatist. She co-founded the Ivan Mosjoukine collective and Le Troisième Cirque. She studied circus arts, namely rope and wire techniques, her specialties at the Châlons-en-Champagne National Centre for Circus Arts, in the same class as Fragan Gehlker. Her creations question circus as a language in itself.