Le Temps de Repli combines dance and deadpan theatrical clowning in a short piece that is comic, skilful and touching. Using an eccentric movement vocabulary, performers Josef Nadj and Cecile Thielemont explore the daily and banal rituals of relationships.
At times I was reminded of a cross between the worlds of Kafka and Beckett, yet this exploration is fundamentally light-hearted, never taking itself too seriously. Thus, whilst there is an air of absurdity, it never feels strained after. In fact what is remarkable is how the two performer/dancers have synthesised their separate styles, to make the complex look simple and the stylised appear natural.
Sometimes the relationship between the duo is apparent, as when they dance acrobatically on a table top: at other times it is deliberately obscure. Overall I felt that they were having fun and I found myself laughing frequently
They are accompanied on stage by musician Vladimir Tarasov, who uses an array of percussion instruments to create sound effects in a variety of drumming styles, sometimes playing to the performers and occasionally leading them in a semiimprovisation. His sensitivity and understatement add a further layer to the whimsicality and charm of the piece. This is an intentionally slight and overall feelgood piece. I came away feeling that I had been witness to an intimate and poetic theatrical encounter.