"... young acrobats who execute feats of incredible strength and agility with such charm and humanity that I left in a state of rapturous admiration." Donald Hutera, The Times
"The performers clamber on to each other's shoulders, rising up into the air as if the urge to touch the sky is overwhelming." Lyn Gardner, The Guardian ****
"... the atmosphere created [was] almost haunting" The Londonist
"Le Grand C is memorable not just for its myriad stacks, courage and heart-stopping movement, but also for the feeling that you only live through the people who support you, balanced precariously." Total Theatre
"There are many memorable things... the girl in a long, horizontal swallow-dive that stops a metre from the floor; the pair flying vertically, cleaved together, chest to chest; the simplicity of a folksong, sung with all its verses; and best of all, the pronounced sense of community and trust – probably more efficient than any safety net." The Independent
Le Grand C
Compagnie XY
Experience this quintessentially French circus spectacle of 17 nimble young performers creating a 360 degree alternative universe of acrobatics, dance, music and human pyramids. With a mass of finely honed, agile bodies, they surge, they merge, and they whip up a physical frenzy to form a breathtaking journey through the air and on the ground. Through sharp observation and original interpretation, they lay bare the rituals of any day anywhere in the world, from a city skyline, to a rugby scrum, to an elegant pirouette in flight. Compagnie XY have created a humorous show with an edge, for an audience of all ages who like a spectacle with risk and daring.
"This is a show that makes you want to walk taller, like the performers themselves, and reach up for the sky." Lyn Gardner, The Guardian ****
23 & 24 October Le Grand C visited Lighthouse, Poole as part of Carte Blanche, a new season highlighting a wide range of contemporary circus creation and outdoor work, bringing artists from France, Finland and the UK.
Co-produced by: le Cirque théâtre d’Elbeuf (centre des arts du cirque de Haute-Normandie), La brèche (Centre des arts du cirque de Basse-Normandie), La Verrerie (Pôle National des arts du Cirque languedoc-Roussillon), La Comédie de Béthune, Circuits- Scène conventionnée Auch, Maison de la culture de Tournai, Ecole de cirque de Lomme.
The Grand C has been supported by the Ministère de la Culture (DMDTS, DRAC Nord-Pas-de-Calais), Le Conseil Régional Nord-Pas-de-Calais, l’Adami.
