PRESS

A wild and virtuoso staging by successful choreographer Pierre Rigal.

- LE MONDE

Inside a device defined by the floor, three walls and a ceiling, a man moves, breathes, is overwhelmed, has cramp, writhes, dances, suffers, enjoys. His body and outer dignity keep on top of all the circumstances. When the roof gets closer and closer to the floor, the man knows how to move around in the reduced space and still maintain his composure as if it were normal to be trapped like that. But how do you escape such a seeming dead-end? Press homes in on the image of modern man, his normality and at the same time his enigmatic complexity. In this unclassifiable work, Pierre Rigal studies the body as a single product, like a puppet of neglect and its narrow living space.

Press demonstrates the great control Pierre Rigal has over his body, not only in his gestures but also also in his ability to create the most unlikely movements. The ease with which he can cross between anxiety and humour is amazing, provoking a kind of vertigo in the audience because they do not know how it will all end. The key elements of Press are a magnificent understanding of space, a beautiful use of syncopated movement and sound and a stage setting which is converted into something which is alive. Here is a theatrical rarity, where the light is a suggestion, the sound a suit and the actor a fallen angel, a sublime clown, an exuberant acrobat, a silent dancer.

Press premiered for the first time at London's Gate Theatre in February 2008. After the performance, The Daily Telegraph newspaper declared: "Pierre Rigal has created one of the most extraordinary dance-theatre shows you're likely to see on a British stage this year".

www.pierrerigal.net