The Banquet, or the praise of love

Compagnie Tau’s new creation is a plunge into Plato’s philosophical work, Le Banquet. Emilia Tau, like Socrates and the other guests, in praise of Eros, investigates the nature of love. She explores the idea of desire, beauty, attachment, childbirth and solitude. Interrogating the text in the light of current issues – the role of women, the notion of consensus, digital communication – she shapes a contemporary ode to love using her own language, combining juggling, shibari, text and knife-throwing.

Founded in 2009 by Emilia Tau, juggler and antipodist, and Bertrand Depoortère, photographer and visual artist, Compagnie Tau is an Italian-French structure based in a rural setting in the heart of the Indre region.

The company has developed a unique approach to circus arts – juggling, antipodism, object manipulation, puppetry and body research – and creates a dialogue between bodies, images, materials and landscapes. In this intermingling of languages, the company stirs emotions, memories and our sensitive environment.

Rooted in an exploration of the links between humans and their environment, the company creates intimate forms, nourished by poetic and imaginative writing. It leaves the spectator an open space, conducive to free, personal interpretation. Circus thus becomes a tool of direct expression, capable of revealing the essential as well as the imperceptible.

Renowned for its research into antipodism – juggling with the feet – Compagnie Tau is contributing to the revival and dissemination of this discipline.

Committed to its local community, the company has developed numerous initiatives in rural areas: performances, festivals, slow tours, participatory projects and artistic mediation with local residents. At the same time, the company pursues international cultural initiatives, affirming its commitment to sharing its practices and vision of the world.