Phia Ménard / Cie Non Nova

I am searching for matter, untameable matter... With SAISON SÈCHE, I wanted to work on undulation and sweat, phenomena which seemed to me to be linked to ritual. So I decided to focus on phenomena involving quakes, tremors, earth, ground, walls, ceilings, light oscillation and sound vibration, and ultimately the softening of solids, culminating in the rupture of matter, like mudslides oozing out of the terrestrial crust. It was whilst touring shows in volcanic regions, notably in Reunion Island and Indonesia, that I began to observe the moving mineral matter of volcanos and earthquakes, with both fascination and fear. Of course, I would not be able to reproduce such an event onstage, but I wanted to evoke the tense anticipation and the fear provoked by these invisible phenomena. 
The stage space is a box composed of three walls, a ceiling and a sloping floor, all painted in bright, immaculate white. This box is a machine, with a ceiling that varies in height according to each scene. The solid walls are made of thick, resistant, corrugated cardboard. Exposed to mechanical tremors and the injection of coloured water, they crack and become deformed and distorted as the ritual goes on. The cardboard, which is very resistant when it is dry, becomes soft when humidified, letting viscous, black liquid seep through the walls. As the ritual takes form, the walls bleed and bleed, until they disintegrate and fall apart. — Phia Ménard


The company was founded in 1998 by Phia Ménard, with a desire to approach juggling from a different angle, through the scenic and dramaturgical structure of each piece. Non nova, sed nove (Not new things, but in a new way) is the company’s founding precept. The many multidisciplinary projects of the company have brought together artists, technicians, thinkers from various horizons with diverse experiences. It is not a collective but a professional team, with Phia Ménard in charge of the artistic direction. To date, the various projects by Compagnie Non Nova have been performed in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Brunei, Burkino Faso, Burundi, Canada, Chilli, China, Colombia, CroaTa, Denmark, Equator, The Federation of Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, the Republic of Cape Verde, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thai-land, Togo, The United Arab Emirates, The United States, Uruguay, Yemen.