Play Dead

Internationally acclaimed, a powerful mix of acrobatics, dance and striking aesthetics. Now in Belgium for the very first time.

Set in a shifting universe of domestic trappings and interlocking stories, People Watching’s debut creation Play Dead brings us a surrealist chronicle of the familiar. The show's inventive mix of acrobatics, dance, and physical theatre casts contemporary circus in a fresh and unexpected light. By giving place for seemingly unexceptional stories to unfold, we look closer and marvel at how beautiful, twisted, and sometimes laughable reality can be. Far from settling into bored fatalism, this show marvels at the absurdity of the mundane and celebrates life, the same way people desperately dance to the last song before the party ends.

Trigger warning

• This show contains a scene with partial nudity and theatrical blood.

About People Watching

People Watching is a Montréal-based collective, creating at the intersection of contemporary circus, dance and physical theater. Each personally established in their field, the six artists have worked for companies such as The 7 Fingers, Circa, Cirque du Soleil and Broadway. Founded in the tumultuous Spring of 2020, the collective was initially moved to investigate ways in which intimacy could be shared with an audience during a time of profound seclusion. The inquisitive nature of this creative process has laid the groundwork for a practice that seeks connection over grandiosity. Weaving in the visceral language of contemporary circus with their organic approach to acrobatics, the company has established a body of work that has reached national and international recognition in the performing arts community, and has fostered collaborations with a multitude of established venues, festivals, creatives and companies.

Press

• “Not only did the six Montreal artists of People Watching offer us the festival's favorite show, but they also created one of the most memorable contemporary circus shows of recent years.” - La Presse; Montréal, Canada — 9/10 review
• “Play Dead is currently one of the truly sublime artistic achievements of contemporary circus. It includes the world's highest artistic level of an uncompromising character, captivates with visually engaging images associating tenebrism and naturalism in 17th century painting, and with the overall action on stage draws you into the dreamy timelessness of surrealism.” - Dance Zone; Prague, Czech Republic
• “People Watching has created with barbaric finesse, with the subtlety of watchmaking precision, a piece of such power that forces the eye not to want to miss a single detail.” - La Verdad; San Javier, Spain

More info

www.peoplewatchingcollective.com
www.instagram.com/peoplewatching

artistic direction & performance Ruben Ingwersen, Jérémi Levesque, Natasha Patterson, Brin Schoellkopf, Jarrod Takle, Sabine Van Rensburg set design Emily Nicole Tucker sound design Colin Gagné music Michal Aloni, Francisco Cruz, Olivier Landry-Gagnon, Stefan Boucher lighting design Émile Lafortune costumes Camille Thibault-Bédard, Catherine Veri, Jonathan Saucier, Paul Rose decor Alastair Davies, Atelier Moa dramaturg assistant Peter James, Isabelle Chasse, Gypsy Snider international representation Aurora Nova production & tour management Léah Wolff funded by Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts de Montréal with the support of The 7 Fingers, La Compagnie des Autres, White Wall Studio, Patro Villeray, Phantom Theatre