The pianist

• Duration: 1 h
• Finland - New Zealand
• For all
• 1010 vues

Thomas Monckton

A big curtain, an ornate chandelier and a black piano… Then some strange shapes behind the curtain. A hand appears, followed by a foot, then a leg and finally a body. They belong to an ungainly pianist, decked out in white tie and tails but with unruly hair and an unnerving stare. The musician attempts to reach his instrument, but the path is blocked by a series of unlikely obstacles …
Locked into a perpetual struggle with the objects which surround him (a keyboard which refuses to open, a piano which loses a leg, a cloud of smoke…), this unlucky pianist is determined to play – whatever it takes. The Pianist, produced by Circo Aereo (Finland), has fun with the ceremonial side of artistic performance, twisted into new shapes by Thomas Monckton. Originally hailing from New Zealand, this acrobat, contortionist, mime, clown and poet stands in the lineage of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, artists as fantastic as they were fantastical. Exploiting the full comic potential of his long, lanky frame, paired with a broad palette of unusual facial expressions, he presents an irresistibly inventive patchwork of farcical situations and laugh-out-loud gags.