James Thiérrée, Tabac Rouge, Sadler's Wells

James Thiérrée was born in a circus. Well, maybe not literally, but certainly figuratively speaking – his parents were circus performers, the founders of Le Cirque Imaginaire and Le Cirque Invisible, his maternal grandfather was Charlie Chaplin and his great-grandfather was the playwright Eugene O’Neill. So with his creative heritage firmly intact, Thiérrée has become a very successful multi-disciplinary artist, who can usually be found somewhere in the intersection between dance, circus and theatre.        
With Tabac Rouge, he presents his fifth production since founding Compagnie du Hanneton in 1998. And the production marks two important shifts in his career – firstly, Thiérrée himself will not be performing in the piece, which seems only fair, considering that he is nearing forty and his career as a performing artist started at the tender age of four. Secondly, Tabac Rouge also takes a step away from the stunt-filled and very circus-inspired multi-artistry of previous shows such as Au Revoir Parapluie and Raoul and moves towards a more dance-focused language.
The last time Thiérrée visited London (performing Raoul at The Barbican in 2009), the reviews ranged from 4 extraordinary and delightful stars to one lonely and shuddering little star. Why? Because Thiérrée’s work does not always make sense – it is very much open to interpretation, and thus is highly dependent on its audience and their state of mind when they enter the theatre. 
The trailer for Tabac Rouge shows a set that is reminiscent of both a quintessential inventor’s workshop and a mad scientist’s laboratory – and perhaps that is not too far away from what one can expect when settling into the seats at Sadler’s Wells next March…