PARBLEX!

This show takes minimalism to its very core: ordinary objects, found in the workshop, are hijacked with precision and become veritable partners in play. In a rectangular space with free rules like a sandbox, they unfold an absurd, playful universe where economy of gesture, derision and humor allow a sensitive poetry to emerge.

Atelier Lefeuvre & André

Jean-Paul and Didier have been buddies for a long time, yet their backgrounds are very different. Nothing predestined them for the big top, and even less for the stage. Jean-Paul holds a BEPA in agriculture and livestock farming, with a specialization in cattle and pigs, and works on the family estate. Didier, an industrial draughtsman at Moulinex.
They participate as curious amateurs in the Cirque du Dr Paradi workshops, the first tempted by unicycles and hand balancing, the second, with his mathematical training, naturally drawn to juggling.

In the spring of 1985, they stumbled across documentation announcing the opening of what was to become the prestigious Centre National des Arts du Cirque de Châlons-en-Champagne, and decided to give it a try. The first class from Châlons presented their graduation show in 1989. One company, and not the least, showed an interest in the talent of the new graduates: Archaos.

One tour later, Jean-Paul and Didier, along with four other former Châlons friends, founded Cirque O, another renowned modern circus troupe.

Then, in 1994, their paths diverged. Didier went to the Institut de Jonglage and Philippe Découflé, while Jean-Paul co-founded Que-Cir-Que, of which he became one of the three figureheads.

Jean-Paul and Didier finally reunited in 2001 to create La Serre as a duo. A poetic-agricultural show whose 30 minutes of light-hearted, rocking and funny prowess are a far cry from the usual stylistic exercises and big top glitz. Titillated by the desire to make the pleasure last, in 2003 they concocted a longer version of La Serre: this would be Le Jardin, which also marked their submission to the frontal law of the auditorium.

In December 2007, following a residency at Lausanne’s Théâtre Vidy, they created Bricolage Érotique, their third show as a duo, which explores ambient eroticism with irony and poetry.

It was to explore a different kind of relationship with the audience that they developed Entre Serre et Jardin in 2009, an open-air version for a large audience combining elements from their two previous works.

Moving from the freedom of the open air to the constraints of confined space, Jean-Paul responded in 2010 to the invitation from the Yonne en Scène bus-theater to create his first solo, which he quite naturally entitled Ni Omnibus. For this restless acrobat, the challenge is inversely proportional to the dimensions of the performance space: 2 x 2 x 2 meters!
In 2011, it’s Didier’s turn to respond favorably to the proposal by creating Chez moi Circus in this space no bigger than a caravan. A godsend for this false sedentary man…
It wasn’t long before their obvious complicity prompted them to combine these two solos. Reconstructing a dismountable stage set based on the proportions of a bus-theater, they imagined an interactive sequence of the two solos in a single show called 8m3. This particularly adaptable device enables them to travel from town to town, meeting an ever more varied audience.

Eight years have passed since their last creation. We thought they’d settled comfortably into their repertoire, but their desire to create is still intact! Here’s Parbleu! (and Parblex!, their outdoor version), in praise of a form of “slow circus” and spectacular minimalism…