Created in 2016
Feminine, but Elastic is a physical theatre show that speaks about how media influences women’s behaviour in the western world. The piece is a dialogue between a solo performer and a multimedia device.
The project origins – The feminine body as the starting point
The idea of creating the show Feminine, but Elastic (Feminin, mais Elastique) is born from a desire to bring to the stage a non-realistic representation on the issues raised by the many definitions of the perfect woman. It is also an attempt to talk about such issues in order to engage the audience to discuss about them. Women are oversaturated by images that are force-fed daily to them. However, they do not always challenge the invasive nature of the media. Even those who work directly with or for the media, such as actresses, presenters, models, and even politicians, are victims of this intrusiveness. This show is therefore an attempt not only to question those issues, but also to celebrate women and their diversity as a way of contesting the establishment of any standards.
A dialogue between physical theatre and digital art
Feminine, but Elastic aims to represent the tension between the imaginary body created by the media and the real body that is influenced by it. The starting point was the simple idea of allowing the performer to try out different ways of being feminine on the stage. The objective was to tackle the stereotypes and deconstruct them, as well as give an ironic glimpse at what the media imposes to occidental women.
Physical Theatre is an artistic form that borrows element from theatre, dance and mime and therefore allows the performer to recreate a body that is constant transformation. Action, movement, and performance express ideas and emotions, create physical metaphors and hybrids, mislead our usual perception of reality, and turn our world upside down. In this show, it allows the representation of a woman that is sucked into an artificial world where anything is possible but there is not much truth.
The work with multimedia was since the beginning an essential element in this piece, and was developed in constant dialogue with the physical construction. The multimedia device is used as a point of contact for the performer, and functions as a second character in order to create a real conflict.
Performances
- April 2016: Anis Gras, le Lieu de l’Autre.
- July 2016: Gare au théâtre, festival Nous n’irons pas à Avignon.
- March 2018: Anis Gras, le Lieu de l’Autre.
November 2021: Le Cube, Center for digital creation.